Convicted murderer jailed for life after kidnapping girl in Altrincham

Paul Sharpe, 56, from Stockport, seized a 15-year-old in a chokehold and held her for eight and a half hours. The girl left her own DNA in his car, fearing she would be killed.

Girl's DNA evidence helps convict Stockport murderer of kidnap and sexual assault

A 15-year-old girl pulled out strands of her own hair and smeared nasal mucus on the interior of her captor's car, believing she was going to be raped and murdered — evidence that helped convict Paul Sharpe, 56, of Portswood, Stockport, The Independent reports.

Sharpe, who was already serving a life sentence for the 2001 murder of a former partner, was handed a second life sentence at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday. Judge Mark Savill ordered him to serve a minimum of eight years before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board.

The abduction

On the evening of 18 May, Sharpe seized the teenager in a chokehold in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, and bundled her into his vehicle. She had been walking home when she entered what the court described as the "cruel orbit" of a man who had "cruised the streets" in search of a young victim.

Prosecutor Alaric Bassano told the court that Sharpe had conducted apparent reconnaissance in the months before the attack, using his mobile phone to film potential abduction locations while driving. In one recording a male voice stated: "The abduction point would be here." Searches on Sharpe's phone also showed he had looked up the locations of secondary schools in the area.

Once the teenager was inside the vehicle, Sharpe attempted to calm her with a fictitious story — that her father owed someone money and he had been asked to collect her. He asked her numerous personal questions. According to Bassano, she answered them "in the hope that by giving herself a personality the defendant would be less likely to harm her." Bassano described this as "impressive reasoning for a young person in her circumstances."

Sharpe bound her wrists and ankles with neckties and drove to several secluded car parks over the course of the night. He removed her socks, touched and smelled her feet, placed a pair of brand new high-heeled shoes and stockings on her, and masturbated. He also made repeated attempts to force her to drink a "yellowy liquid," which she at times pretended to consume.

Eight and a half hours in captivity

The teenager was held inside the vehicle for eight and a half hours. Fearing she would be killed, she deliberately deposited DNA throughout the car — pulling out strands of hair and leaving nasal mucus on multiple surfaces — to assist police in any subsequent murder investigation.

Police were first alerted after a dog walker reported hearing a young woman crying in a church car park in Knutsford, and an older man telling her to "take a drink." Officers arrived to find the vehicle had gone, but it was later traced to a hotel car park in the same town. The teenager emerged "visibly shaken" and "shocked." Sharpe was arrested at the scene.

In interview, Sharpe claimed the kidnap had not been planned. He told detectives he was "overwhelmed" because he had no electricity at home, was facing a driving ban and had resigned from his job, and had wanted to talk to a stranger before killing himself.

Prior conviction and release

Sharpe had been convicted of murder in 2001 after strangling a former partner in October 2000. He was released on licence in April 2013, having served the minimum 11-year term set at the time of sentencing.

Phone evidence

Examination of his mobile phone revealed recordings of women's legs filmed at desks, along with internet searches including "schoolgirl feet," "sleepy teen in white socks" and "full control of teen bodies in white socks." Search terms related to sexual kidnap and strangulation were also found on the device. A thread on the Telegram messaging app linked to an "abduction" broadcast channel appeared to show a man waiting in darkness before approaching a woman on a street.

Sentencing remarks

Judge Savill described the case as "chilling" and said characterising the teenager's ordeal as "appalling" would be "wholly inadequate."

"You cruised the streets in your car with the clear purpose of finding a female school child to abduct in order to fulfil your particular sexual fantasies," Savill told Sharpe. "What is remarkable about this case is not merely the nature of your conduct but the courage of your victim. Faced with such dreadful circumstances she showed astonishing presence of mind as she deliberately left traces of DNA in your car. Simply put, the reason she did this was because she thought she was going to be raped and murdered by you."

The judge added: "Few adults would have displayed such presence of mind and it is impossible not to be impressed by her bravery. She is a giant. You are anything but. You, Paul Sharpe, are every parent's worst nightmare."

Savill concluded that Sharpe had "carefully planned to specifically target a child" to fulfil what he described as "sinister and entrenched sexual preferences — years after apparent compliance," and declared: "You cannot control yourself and your urges whether they be sexual or homicidal."

Victim impact

In her victim personal statement, the teenager said she suffers from panic, anxiety, sleeplessness and nightmares following what she described as "the worst eight hours of my life."

Sharpe had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to kidnap, kidnap with intent to commit a sexual offence, and sexual assault.

Source: The Independent