A PREVIOUSLY convicted murderer has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the knifepoint kidnapping of a teenage girl after his arrest in the car park of a hotel in Knutsford.
Paul Sharpe, of Stockport, appeared at the crown court for sentencing on Friday, September 4, a few months after he was arrested in the car park of The Cottons Hotel and Spa.
The 56-year-old convicted murderer has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the knifepoint kidnapping of a teenage girl as well as a series of sexual offences after the abduction in Altrincham on Monday, May 18.
The police and the prosecution said he secured her ankles and her wrists with a necktie and sexually assaulted her, plying her with alcohol and performing a sex act on himself over an ordeal of more than eight hours.
Cheshire Police and Greater Manchester Police were able to use automatic number plate recognition cameras, CCTV and data from devices to trace them across the two regions and to Manchester Road in Knutsford.
It was here in the early hours of the following day that they were tracked down to the car park where they were both in the back seat of the defendant's Ford Focus.
Sharpe, of Yates Street, later pleaded guilty to six offences including kidnap, sexual assault, sexual activity in the presence of a child and threats with a bladed article.
He must serve at least eight years of a life sentence which is his second after serving 12 years in prison for strangling an ex-partner when he was in his 30s and 40s.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts, of Cheshire Police, said: "In policing there are no borders and this coordinated effort between Greater Manchester Police and Cheshire Police's Force Control Centre and response officers was pivotal in detaining a dangerous offender.
"I would like to extend my thanks to the officers involved in locating the vehicle and subsequently arresting Sharpe.
"Their swift and decisive actions prevented further harm coming to a young girl who had already suffered such a terrible ordeal.
"This case is an important reminder of how police forces work together to safeguard our communities and protect members of the public."
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