Man who drugged and raped wife found strangers online who ‘wanted to abuse an unconscious woman’

Man who drugged and raped wife found strangers online who ‘wanted to abuse an unconscious woman’ The man took more than a million photos and videos cataloguing his wife being abused, a court heard - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in A man who drugged and raped his wife for more than two decades found strangers online with “barbaric fantasies” of sex with unconscious and unresponsive women, a jury heard. The man, in his 60s from Stockport, Manchester, earlier admitted multiple offences including rape and administering substances with intent to stupefy his wife so that others could engage in sexual activity with her. The man, who cannot be named in order to protect his wife’s identity, will give evidence as a witness in the trial of nine men accused of offences involving sexual offending against her. Prosecutors at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court say that those defendants, and the husband, “led double lives” so that they could indulge in their “barbaric fantasies”. The husband said that he initially took advantage of his asleep or unconscious wife through alcohol, and later researched online articles on date rape drugs, GHB and sleeping tablets, and the interaction of medication and alcohol. He went on to give his wife cocktails of stupefying drugs without her knowledge as he filmed and photographed his exploits, and shared that imagery online. One of his online contacts sent the husband a photograph of comedian Bill Cosby with the words “she can’t say no if she’s unconscious”, the court heard. From 2023 onwards at the latest, the husband began inviting other men round to their home, says the Crown, where they sexually abused her while she lay in their bed unconscious. In that year he set up a profile, using a pseudonym, on fabswingers.com, an online messaging site for people who like to “swing”, the court heard. Opening her case, prosecutor Louise Oakley KC told jurors: “He did not hide the fact that his wife was and would be unaware of the third parties he communicated with. His profile specifically referred to her being ‘out of it’. “At no point did he suggest, the Crown say, to any of these defendants that as a couple they engaged in sleepy roleplay or fantasy. “She was quite clearly wasted, unconscious, out of it – however you want to describe it. “The sad reality of this case is that there are many, many men out there whose fantasy is to have sex and abuse an unconscious and unresponsive woman.” She added the husband found a number of such men, the Crown says, including the defendants in the dock. Those defendants, described as “contact offenders”, who visited the couple’s home expected her to be “wasted” and “out of it”. She said: “Any human being with two eyes, two ears and half a brain would have realised she was not conscious when they walked into that bedroom. “They knew. They wanted it. Anyone who didn’t would have run a country mile walking into a bedroom with a stranger and finding a woman naked, snoring and not communicating.” It is alleged contact offenders are taxi driver Philip Wild, 59, recruitment agency worker Mohammed Sabir, 28, building supplies employee Jordan Wallace, 31, industrial cleaning firm worker Alan Keelan, 42, retiree Robert Stewart, 70, sheet metal worker Richard Townsend, 38, and senior paramedic Jonathan Kirk, 43. The Crown say non-contact offenders, who “hid behind a screen” as they conspired to administer substances to the wife, are kitchen firm sales rep David Graves, 60, and self-employed mechanic Daniel Rayner, 42. Police discovered what had been happening when undercover journalists infiltrated a chat group on messaging app Telegram in which people appeared to have a specific interest in sex with someone asleep or unconscious, the court was told. Jurors heard that to join the group, the husband had to provide evidence he was a real person and could offer something in the form of imagery of sex offences on his partner or another woman. Detectives arrested the man and seized a mobile phone from his address, which contained more than one million photographs and videos cataloguing the abuse by him and others, the court has heard. Stewart, of Stockport, denies rape, conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to administer a substance with intent; Graves, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, denies conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to assault by penetration and conspiracy to administer a substance with intent, and Wild, of Stockport, has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault, attempted rape, assault by penetration and conspiracy to rape. Rayner, of Whitstable, Kent, denies conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to assault by penetration and conspiracy to administer a substance with intent; Sabir, of Stockport, denies rape and conspiracy to rape; and Wallace, of Wythenshawe, denies rape and attempted rape. Keelan, of Wythenshawe, denies attempted rape and assault by penetration; Townsend, of Heywood, Greater Manchester, denies assault by penetration; and Kirk, of Stockport, denies rape and conspiracy to rape. The offences are said to have taken place on various dates between 2015 and 2025. Four other men have pleaded guilty at earlier hearings to various offences linked to the case. They are Keith Fotheringham, 59, of Dundee; Karl Lindsay, 56, of Taunton; Sean Peers, 38, of Stockport; and Graham Brougham, 74, of Northwich, Cheshire.