Nine men go on trial over abuse of woman drugged by her husband

Manchester trial opens

Nine men went on trial on Monday, 2 November, at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, accused of taking part in the abuse of a woman who was drugged and raped by her husband. The husband, a man in his sixties from the Stockport area whose name cannot be published to protect his wife's anonymity, has already admitted 62 offences against her, including rape. Four other men have also pleaded guilty to offences in the case, while the nine on trial deny the charges. Prosecutors say the offences involving the nine took place between 2015 and the husband's arrest in 2025. Two defendants are described in court as 'non-contact offenders' who allegedly encouraged the abuse online, while the other seven are described as 'contact offenders' who allegedly visited the couple's home in Stockport and took part.

How the abuse came to light

Police opened their investigation in October 2025 after undercover reporters found a Telegram group in which a man discussed raping and sexually abusing his wife while she was asleep or unconscious. That lead took officers to an address in Stockport, where the husband was arrested. His Samsung Galaxy phone was seized and, according to prosecutors, held more than one million photos and videos of the abuse. Prosecutor Louise Oakley KC described the device as a 'confession booth' for his offending. The wife had regarded their marriage of more than four decades as unremarkable until that day. Prosecutors said the husband had been sharing images and videos online since 2004, and from 2023 at the latest began inviting other men to the family home.

“There is no doubt he lived a double life masked in respectability.”

The Swindon case

Separately, at Winchester Crown Court, a former councillor named Philip Young has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of drugging and sexually abusing his wife over a 13-year period at their home in Swindon, Wiltshire. Four other men are on trial there, accused of sexually abusing her. Prosecutor Edward Culver told the court that analysis of Young's devices found 300 emails with other people between 2015 and 2019, and that Young had created 20 adverts on Craigslist. The devices also held 480 images of the woman in a state of undress, with most taken without her knowledge or consent. In a message to one of the defendants, Young wrote:

“The thought of a slight risk is a great thrill for us.”

Craigslist adverts created20

Emails with other people, 2015 to 2019300

Images of his wife in a state of undress480

Craigslist adverts created

20

Emails with other people, 2015 to 2019

300

Images of his wife in a state of undress

480

Data from the article text

Defence and what comes next

A 32-year-old from Swindon, who denies sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching in June 2016, told the court that he believed the advert had been placed by a couple and that the woman agreed. He said he had no indication she was drugged, intoxicated or acting against her will, and that the charges had cost him his security clearance on nuclear defence work for the Ministry of Defence. Another Swindon defendant, 38, has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual touching in February 2023. In Manchester, the husband is expected to appear as a witness in the trial of the nine other men, who deny offences including conspiracy to rape. The trial judge, Maurice Greene, warned jurors they would be shown evidence that could provoke upset and anger.