Paul Sharpe, 56, a convicted murderer from Stockport, has pleaded guilty to a string of offences after subjecting a 15-year-old girl to a ‘terrifying’ eight-hour ordeal in which he kidnapped her at knifepoint
A convicted killer from Stockport has admitted to a series of crimes after subjecting a 15-year-old girl to a horrifying experience in which he abducted her at knifepoint and held her captive for hours in his car.
Paul Sharpe, from Portwood, confessed today (July 3) at Minshull Street Crown Court to six offences including kidnapping, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in front of a child and making threats with a knife.
The police found the 56-year-old in a hotel car park in Knutsford in the early hours of May 19 this year with the girl in his car, which he had forced her into on Bradgate Road in Altrincham the previous night, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
The service described it as a ‘protracted’ and ‘terrifying’ ordeal where Sharpe, reported to be a convicted murderer, bound her wrists and feet and masturbated in front of her, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The abduction occurred around 7:30pm on May 18 when Sharpe threatened her with a knife, put her in a headlock and compelled her into his car.
Alleging that her father was in debt to him, he drove her to an airport car park and tied her wrists and ankles with a necktie.
Throughout the night, Sharpe continued to move between different car parks, forcing the girl to consume alcohol, sexually assaulting her and, on one occasion, masturbated while touching the victim’s feet.
The nightmare finally concluded when officers apprehended Sharpe in a hotel car park roughly eight hours after the girl was abducted.
She had been reported missing to police by her mother, following which comprehensive CCTV investigations enabled detectives to trace his vehicle.
“In interview, Sharpe claimed that he had been feeling bad and so he kidnapped the girl thinking it would be easier than kidnapping an adult,” the CPS said.
“He said he wasn’t thinking clearly and his intention was to release her when it was light, then end his own life. He claimed his motives weren’t sexual but admitted being aroused by smelling her feet.”
He admitted guilt to the charges today, which also encompassed committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, and administering a noxious thing ‘with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy’.
In a statement, senior prosecutor for the CPS Hannah Gee said: “Paul Sharpe, a convicted murderer, kidnapped an innocent girl at knifepoint in broad daylight.
“In this terrifying incident, the victim was held captive for eight hours while Sharpe forced her to drink alcohol and sexually assaulted her.
“Sharpe gave no thought to the impact his actions, for his own depraved reasons, would have on his victim.
“Although his guilty pleas today have spared her from the ordeal of a trial, I would like to thank the girl, and her family, for supporting this prosecution and ensuring this dangerous offender is back where he belongs.”
Sharpe is set to be sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court on 4 September 2026.
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