Crime01 September, 20263 min read
Stockport Man Accused of Drugging Wife, Facilitating Abuse by 12 Men at Manchester Crown Court Trial
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Stockport man pleads guilty to 60 counts of drugging and raping his wife. Twelve other men accused of aiding or taking part in the abuse stand trial.
11 outlets told this the same way.
Trial in Manchester
A man in his 60s from the Stockport area of Greater Manchester is accused of drugging and sexually abusing his wife and facilitating abuse by other men over more than two decades, and he is standing trial in Manchester on Tuesday alongside 12 co-defendants. CBS News partner BBC News said the man is indicted on 48 charges, and he previously denied all charges before later pleading guilty to 15, with Greater Manchester police officials listing five counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, six counts of assault by penetration and one count of sharing intimate photos or film.
CNN reports the husband has pleaded guilty to 15 offenses but denies 33 others, while the 12 co-defendants deny the charges against them. The trial is being held at Manchester Crown Court, and the BBC says the husband cannot be named to protect the anonymity of his wife, who watched proceedings from the public gallery supported by members of her family.
Guilty pleas and dates
The BBC says the husband admitted 60 offences against his wife, became visibly emotional as he repeated the word guilty to dozens of charges at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, and was invited to sit down in the dock by the judge. Sky News says he pleaded guilty to a total of 60 charges between 2004 and his arrest in October last year at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, and it quotes Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Rick Jackson saying, "Our focus remains on supporting the victim of this horrific campaign of abuse through what is a very complex investigation."
The BBC adds that the husband’s offending took place over a period going back to 2004, while the accusations involving the other men range from September 2018 to November 2025. The Manchester Evening News says the husband pleaded guilty to 60 charges earlier today (September 14), and it lists his guilty pleas including 21 counts of rape, 15 counts of assault by penetration, one count of administering a substance with intent, 10 counts of sexual assault, four counts of attempted rape and one count of sharing intimate photographs or film.
Other defendants and stakes
The BBC says 12 other men deny multiple serious sexual offences against the same woman, and it names defendants including Philip Wild, 58, from Stockport; Sean Peers, 38, from Stockport; Jordan Wallace, 31, from Manchester; and Jonathan Kirk, 43, from Stockport. Sky News says the 12 other men, aged between 28 and 74, deny all of the charges against them, and it lists Karl Lindsay, 56, the former chief executive of Taunton Town FC; Mohammed Sabir, 28, a recruitment consultant from the Stockport area; and Robert Stewart, 70, from the Stockport area.
“The trial at Manchester Crown Court on Minshull Street, where the Stockport man and the other 12 defendants will stand trial, is expected to last around 12 weeks.”
The trial at Manchester Crown Court on Minshull Street is expected to last around 12 weeks, and the BBC says the husband will be sentenced for the counts he has admitted at the conclusion of the trial. In the same case, the BBC reports that a 13th man previously admitted sexual offences against the woman, while the other defendants’ allegations span from September 2018 to November 2025, leaving the remaining proceedings to determine what happens next for the men who deny the charges.