A PREVIOUSLY convicted murderer has pleaded guilty to the knifepoint kidnapping of a teenage girl after his arrest at a hotel in Cheshire.
Paul Sharpe appeared at crown court last week, around six weeks after he was arrested in the car park of The Cottons Hotel and Spa in Knutsford.
The 56-year-old, a convicted murderer, has pleaded guilty to the knifepoint kidnapping of the teenage girl on Bradgate Road, Altrincham, as well as a series of sexual offences after the abduction on Monday, May 18.
The Crown Prosecution Service 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.
At a police interview he said that kidnapping a girl was easier than kidnapping a grown adult but that he would have eventually let her go before taking his own life.
Sharpe, of Yates Street, Stockport, admitted six offences including kidnap, sexual assault, sexual activity in the presence of a child and threats with a bladed article.
After an adjournment for the preparation of the pre-sentence report he is awaiting sentencing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday, September 4.
Hannah Gee, a senior crown prosecutor for the north west, 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."
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