British man wrongly sentenced to 17 years for rape calls rapist’s 24-year sentence ‘insulting’ World News

British man Andrew Malkinson, who was wrongly jailed for more than 17 years for rape, has criticized the sentence given to the man responsible for the attack, calling the sentence an “insult” to the years behind bars.Paul Quinn, 52, was sentenced to 24 years in prison at Manchester Crown Court for the 2003 rape and assault of a woman in Little Hulton, Salford. The sentence included 21 years in prison, followed by a three-year license extension.Earlier this year, Quinn was found guilty of rape, strangulation and inflicting grievous bodily harm after DNA evidence linked him to the attack two decades later.After the sentencing, Malkinson said that although Quinn was innocent, he received a lighter punishment than the life sentence he was sentenced to.“I feel insulted that this violent, depraved man was willing to allow me to be vilified for two decades and wrongly imprisoned for more than 17 years for his crimes, only to receive a lighter sentence than I was given,” Malkinson said, according to the BBC.He added that he hoped Quinn served longer than him in prison because any shorter time would not serve justice.The case originated from the early morning of July 19, 2003, when a woman in her 30s was brutally attacked while walking home. Prosecutors said Quinn followed her, then dragged her from the street to a highway embankment, where he beat, bit, strangled and raped her. The attack left her with a broken cheekbone and lasting damage to her face.Malkinson was working as a security guard at the time and was mistakenly identified during an identity check. He always maintained his innocence but was convicted in 2004 and subsequently lost appeals against his conviction in 2012 and 2020.He was released in 2020 after more than 17 years in prison. An appeals court ultimately vacated Quinn’s conviction in 2023 after new DNA testing identified him as the attacker.The victim told the court that while justice was ultimately served, the impact of the attack had never left her.“For him, this was a night in his life; for me, this was a night that changed my life,” she said in a statement read in court.She also acknowledged the impact the case had on Malkinson, saying she knew an innocent man had lost 17 years of his life due to a wrongful conviction.In sentencing Quinn, Judge Robert Bright praised the victim’s courage and said he would remember her in the case.The court heard Quinn had previous convictions and DNA collected in an earlier case eventually linked him to the 2003 attack. Jurors were also told he searched online for the length of time police were retaining DNA samples.Greater Manchester Police said the conviction finally brought criminal proceedings to a close but urged any other potential victims of Quinn to come forward.The case has ramifications beyond the conviction. A public inquiry is looking into how Malkinson’s wrongful conviction was allowed to stand for years despite evidence that could have earlier exonerated him. Several former and current Greater Manchester police officers remain under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, while a senior official at the Criminal Case Review Commission resigned amid criticism over his handling of the case.