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

Key Points:

• A man in his 60s from Stockport, Manchester, admitted to drugging and raping his wife over more than 20 years, sharing images and videos of the abuse online and inviting other men to sexually assault her while she was unconscious.
• The husband connected with men online who had "barbaric fantasies" involving sex with unconscious women, including nine men now on trial for sexual offences against the wife between 2015 and 2025.
• Prosecutors revealed the husband used date rape drugs and alcohol cocktails to stupefy his wife without her knowledge, and the men who visited expected her to be unconscious and did not conceal their intentions.
• Police uncovered the case after undercover journalists infiltrated a Telegram chat group focused on sexual abuse of unconscious women, leading to the husband's arrest and the seizure of over one million abusive images and videos.
• Several defendants deny the charges, while four other men have pleaded guilty to related offences; the trial continues at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.