Victim describes ‘constant fear’ as Paul Quinn to be sentenced for rape which saw innocent man jailed
How the 2003 attack unfolded – in the victim’s wordspublished at 12:01 BST
Claire Ellison
Reporting from Manchester Crown Court
Warning: This post contains distressing details.
We’re still hearing submissions in court and comments from the judge. While we wait for more details, let’s go for a moment to the victim’s testimony at Quinn’s trial.
The woman who was attacked by Quinn had been walking home in the early hours of a summer morning after a row with her boyfriend.
It was quite a long walk, lasting several miles, and part of it was picked up by CCTV cameras.
It was when she approached a wooded area that she heard a voice and rustling which frightened her. It was a man, who said: “Come into the bushes, I’ve got a gun pointing at your head.”
She sent a text message to her boyfriend, who was asleep, and told the man she would call the police. She picked up her pace and carried on walking towards home.
In her testimony, she said:
“I looked over my shoulder. I saw a male, he was wearing a white collared shirt that was fully unbuttoned at the front and flapping open… he was walking on the same side of the road as me and in my direction. Each time I looked over my shoulder he seemed to be closer.
“I was very frightened by this time… As I approached the motorway bridge…I heard five or six running steps and then felt an almighty force behind me like a push, but with the man attached to me. I remember sliding down a grass embankment…”
The victim said she “thought … the man was trying to kill me”.
She told him: “Please don’t I’ve got two babies don’t hurt me,” but said “that comment seemed to annoy him even more”.
