Two men have been jailed for more than a decade after a woman was raped in Manchester city centre back in 2021.
Juan Quinones, 22, from Middleton in Rochdale, and Brian Jalo, 23, from Salford both appeared at Manchester Crown Court yesterday (21 December), and were eventually both jailed for 12 years following an “extensive” police investigation.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explains that the attack occurred after the victim – who was just 18 at the time – and her friend met Quinones and Jalo the previous day, when the pair had approached the women, spoke to them for some time, and exchanged contact details on Instagram.
The following evening, on the night of the attack, the victim and her friend were staying in a hotel near Piccadilly Gardens, and after the two women returned to the hotel, the victim then left the hotel again on her own, and was subsequently spotted by Quinones and Jalo, who then proceeded to attack her and rape her in an alleyway.
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Juan Quinones and Brian Jalo have been jailed for 12 years / Credit: GMP
The victim managed to make her way back to the hotel following the attack in a distressed state, although she lost her mobile phone during the incident, and this has never been recovered.
She then contacted police, and an investigation was immediately launched, GMP confirmed.
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Following an appeal to the public for information, CCTV was provided to investigating officers which led to the identification and arrest of Jalo and Quinones on 19 May 2021, while a third man was later acquitted of sexual assault and aiding and abetting the rape.
“This was a vile and predatory attack on a lone woman by a pair who worked together to lure her away from safety in order to rape her,” commented Detective Constable Stuart Kassim, of GMP Longsight CID, after the men were jailed this week.
The main have been jailed following an “extensive” police investigation / Credit: GMP
“Their actions were cold and calculating, and I am pleased the sentence has placed them safely behind bars.
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“Ultimately, it is thanks to the bravery of the victim, as well as members of the public who answered our CCTV appeal and the dedication of the investigation team, that both offenders will now spend years of their life behind bars.
“I hope this case gives other victim’s reassurance that GMP will seek to arrest and prosecute offenders, and I hope it encourages more victims to come forwards and report what happened to them to police.”
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
22nd December 2023 
