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DNA Breakthrough Exposes 17-Year Wrongful Conviction
17 Apr
Summary
- Real attacker convicted of rape after 17 years of wrongful imprisonment.
- DNA evidence finally matched the actual perpetrator nearly two decades later.
- Inquiry launched into serious failings that led to the miscarriage of justice.
A man wrongfully imprisoned for 17 years for a rape he did not commit has seen justice finally served with the conviction of the actual attacker. Paul Quinn, 52, was found guilty by a jury on April 12, 2024, for a sex attack in Little Hulton, Salford, on July 19, 2003. Andrew Malkinson, who had protested his innocence, was released in 2020 and his conviction quashed in 2023.
Advances in DNA technology led to a billion-to-one match of Quinn's DNA profile with saliva found on the victim's vest top, nearly two decades after the crime. Quinn, a registered sex offender since age 12, was arrested in December 2022. The trial at Manchester Crown Court revealed Quinn stalked his victim, dragging her down an embankment, where he raped her, fractured her cheekbone, and strangled her unconscious.
The case has triggered a public inquiry into police and legal failings that potentially could have exonerated Mr. Malkinson years earlier. Five former Greater Manchester Police officers and one current officer are under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The chair and chief executive of the Criminal Cases Review Commission have also resigned amidst the fallout.
Detectives believe Quinn may be linked to other unsolved crimes and are examining three stranger rapes in Greater Manchester. Quinn, who claimed a promiscuous lifestyle, had his defense rejected by the jury. His conviction includes two counts of rape, grievous bodily harm, and attempting to choke or strangle the victim.
