Paul Sharpe, 56, a convicted murderer, has pleaded guilty to kidnapping a 15-year-old girl at knifepoint and holding her hostage in his car for eight hours, during which he sexually assaulted her
A convicted murderer put a girl through a terrifying ordeal in which he abducted her at knifepoint and kept her captive in his vehicle before police discovered them in a hotel car park.
Officers found Paul Sharpe, 56, and his frightened 15-year-old victim in Knutsford during the early hours of May 19 this year. He had compelled her into the vehicle on Bradgate Road in Altrincham the night before, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
Sharpe, from Portwood, Stockport, admitted guilt at Minshull Street Crown Court on July 3 to six charges including abduction, sexual assault, sexual activity in the presence of a child and making threats with a bladed article.
The CPS described it as a “protracted” and “terrifying” ordeal where Sharpe, described as a convicted murderer, bound her wrists and feet and carried out a sex act in her presence, reports the Mirror.
The abduction occurred at approximately 7:30pm on May 18 when Sharpe menaced her with a knife, placed her in a headlock and dragged her into his vehicle.
Alleging that her father was in debt to him, he drove them to a car park at the airport and restrained her wrists and ankles with a necktie, the court was told.
Throughout the night Sharpe continued to move between different car parks, compelling the girl to consume alcohol and sexually assaulting her. The nightmare concluded only when officers detained Sharpe approximately eight hours following the girl’s abduction.
Her mother had reported her disappearance to police, after which thorough 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 admitted guilt to the charges, which also encompassed committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, and administering a noxious substance “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 will receive his sentence at the same court on September 4.
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