Rape suspect made frequent online searches of case

2 hours ago

Andy GillNorth West

News image — Paul Quinn, now 51, denies dragging a woman into bushes and raping her in July 2003

BBC Paul Quinn, who has short light brown hair, smiles at the camera while holding a pint of what appears to be lager and wearing a white vest-top. — Paul Quinn, now 51, denies dragging a woman into bushes and raping her in July 2003

A jury has been told that a man accused of a rape for which another man wrongly served 17 years in jail made frequent internet searches about the alleged crime.

Paul Quinn denies raping the woman in Little Hulton in Salford in 2003. Manchester Crown Court has heard that Andrew Malkinson was jailed for the attack in 2004 but released after 17 years and that his conviction was quashed in 2023.

At Malkinson's 2004 trial there was no DNA evidence, but advances made since had ruled out Malkinson's DNA being present on the victim or her clothing.

The jury has heard that DNA found on the victim matched Quinn's.

Jurors have also been told that Quinn said in a police interview that he was very promiscuous when he lived in the Salford area at the time and slept with thousands of women.

Greater Manchester Police A mugshot of Andy Malkinson, who has short brown hair, glasses and light stubble, and a digital e-fit image of a man with black hair. — A custody image of Andrew Malkinson after his arrest in 2003 (left) and an e-fit image of the attacker based on the victim's description

John Price KC, prosecuting, told the jury about the campaign Malkinson mounted to prove his innocence, and about how that campaign generated more and more publicity over the years.

Price also said Quinn made internet searches about the case three years before he knew there was a DNA profile that linked him to the case.

Price said "His [Mr Quinn's] research was undertaken by him before ever he was told about the DNA which had been found and which matched with his profile.

"If what [he] said in the [police] interview on December 13 2022 is true and he is not the person who attacked [the alleged victim] then prior to the day of the interview, he would have had no earthly reason to believe that he should ever be suspected of committing a crime, which after all, by then, had occurred so very many years ago."

He added: "The data recovered from [Mr Quinn's] Gmail account shows he was someone who had little interest in what might be called news outlet websites.

"He very rarely visited them. But there was one news story which did catch his eye. It was the Andrew Malkinson campaign, and Paul Quinn was onto it before it became prominent in 2020."

A general view of an isolated stretch of road with three cars visible, and undergrowth and a pathway to the left — The 2003 attack in part of Salford led to one of the "very worst" miscarriages of justice

Price also told the jury that Quinn's internet searches changed dramatically once there were media reports in 2022 that DNA linked another man to the crime.

"The available evidence shows a very profound change in [Paul Quinn's] internet-browsing habits not long after information [about the DNA] was published. A man now living in Exeter, in Devon, he searched the website of Manchester Evening News, including its front page, on 249 occasions between 16th August 2022 and 13th December 2022."

The prosecution says Quinn also made internet searches about how long DNA samples are kept on the police database.

The jury has been told that Quinn provided a DNA sample in 2012, so he knew it was stored in the national data base when he made searches about DNA in 2022.

Quinn denies rape, strangulation and inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.

The trial continues.

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