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.”
Police are searching for a missing bride-to-be, with CCTV from the day she vanished released
Daisy Jackson
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright, releasing CCTV of her on the day she vanished.
Eren has been missing since 27 October, when she left her home address in Lytham St Annes.
Since then, her desperate fiancé has shared that her phone was last detected in Birkdale Southport at around 5.30pm that same day, and her bank accounts are empty.
He said last week in a post on Facebook: “Myself and the pets are freaking out not knowing where she is and if she is ok, she has been missing for nearly 12 hours.”
Eren was last seen just after 10am leaving her home on St David’s Road South.
She is described as white, 5’7″, slim, and with blonde hair. She also has tattoos of vines and a tree on her hand and arms.
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright. Credit: Fylde Police
Eren was last seen wearing a light olive green hoodie with a painting on the front, beige/cream wide leg pants, and worn white trainers.
Police have now shared the new CCTV image of Eren in the hopes that someone might know where she is, or have seen her.
Fylde Police also said they were ‘worried’ about her.
If you see Eren or know where she might be, call 999 quoting log 1309 of October 27th.
Leigh drug dealer jailed after being ‘caught red-handed’ by police
Emily Sergeant
A drug dealer known around the Leigh area has been jailed last week after police caught him ‘red-handed’.
Dawid Bialek, of no fixed abode, has been jailed after pleading guilty to four counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine), and handling stolen goods.
It comes after, on Monday 11 May 2026, officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) who were patrolling on a canal towpath, near Quayside in Leigh, spotted 30-year-old Bialek attempting to discard a package in the water.
The package was subsequently recovered, and according to GMP, was found to contain multiple wraps of suspected Class A drugs.
Further enquiries then led police to an address in Leigh, where additional evidence linked to drug dealing was recovered – including suspected drugs, scales, empty wraps, and mobile phones.
Bialek was later bailed as police conducted further enquiries, but while that work was continuing, on Friday 19 June, officers carrying out plain-clothes patrols in the town centre saw Bialek in an alley just off the canal tow path, handing out wraps of heroin and crack cocaine to others.
He was once again stopped, searched, and found to be in possession of drugs and cash.
This time he was charged and able to be remanded. He appeared at court over the summer and plead not guilty to the charges brought against him, but as the investigation continued, examination of seized mobile phones uncovered further evidence of drug dealing activity – including messages, videos and notes consistent with the supply of Class A drugs.
Due to the quantity of evidence gathered and submitted to the CPS, Bialek changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court last week.
He has been jailed for a total of four years and nine months.
Following the sentencing, a spokesperson for GMP’s Leigh Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “The supply of Class A drugs causes significant harm within our communities and often exploits vulnerable people who are struggling with addiction.
“This result demonstrates our commitment to targeting those responsible for bringing drugs into Leigh and disrupting the criminality associated with them.”
Emily Sergeant -
22nd December 2023 
