A Bridport man who served more than 17 years in prison for a brutal rape he did not commit has hit out after the true perpetrator was today handed a softer sentence.

Andrew Malkinson was convicted for a 2003 attack on a young mum. He was jailed for life.

Because he continued to protest his innocence, he remained in prison – he could, if he had ‘confessed’ to a crime he did not commit, have been released much earlier.

Andrew moved down south after a Bridport-based lawyer managed to get him freed in 2023, after DNA evidence proved his innocence – and Paul Quinn’s guilt.

But today, Paul Quinn was jailed for just 21 years – and could be out in 14.

Andrew said: “I am insulted that this violent, depraved individual – who was content to let me suffer two decades of vilification and more than 17 years wrongly imprisoned for his crime – has received a softer sentence than was imposed on me, an innocent man.

“I got sentenced to life imprisonment and served more than 17 years inside.

“Throughout that time I didn’t know if I would ever be released.

“Paul Quinn, who has a track record of violence and sexual offences, and who let me rot whilst he enjoyed his freedom, could now be out after just 14 years, and will certainly be out after 21 years.

“I hope that this man does not get parole and that he serves longer than me. Anything less is not justice.

“I am also appalled for the victim, who has suffered so gravely and whose real attacker has today gotten off lightly.

“My thoughts are with her and her loved ones – who I hope today nevertheless brings some peace.”

Today will at least bring to an end the gross unfairness of Andrew Malkinson’s conviction, which was overturned after lawyer Emily Bolton and investigator James Burley of Appeal uncovered evidence that proved Andy’s convictions were unsafe on multiple grounds.

They forced Greater Manchester Police to reveal undisclosed evidence about the credibility of two people who had claimed to have seen Andy on the night of the attack. And they commissioned DNA testing that showed another man’s DNA on the victim’s clothing – and not Andy’s.

Andrew could have been released in 2007, when the police had a searchable DNA profile from the victim’s clothing which could not have originated from Malkinson.

In 2012, Quinn’s DNA was uploaded on the national database because he was a known sex offender, but the authorities failed to arrange the search which ultimately linked Quinn to the crime until 2022. The matter is under investigation, with Greater Manchester Police officers facing scrutiny.