A man from Stockport has admitted to a 21-year campaign of drugging and raping his wife in a case that has drawn national attention for its scale and severity. On Monday 14 September 2026, the defendant, a man in his 60s, entered 45 additional guilty pleas at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, bringing the total number of charges he has admitted to 60.
The abuse occurred between 2004 and 2025. The 60 counts admitted by the husband include 21 counts of rape, 15 counts of assault by penetration, 11 counts of sexual assault, and one count of administering a substance with intent to stupefy or overpower his wife to allow sexual activity.
The case has drawn inevitable comparisons to the high-profile trial of Dominique Pelicot in France, though this prosecution is a separate British case involving a man from Greater Manchester. The husband was originally arrested in October 2025 following an investigation by Greater Manchester Police.
Trial of co-defendants
While the husband has admitted his guilt, 12 other men are currently facing trial at the same court. A jury was sworn in this week for the proceedings, which are expected to last several months. All 12 co-defendants deny the charges against them.
The prosecution alleges that these men were involved in the abuse of the victim at various points during the two-decade period. The co-defendants come from various locations across the UK, reflecting the national reach of the investigation into the husband’s activities.
The husband will not be sentenced until the conclusion of the trial for the other 12 men. He remains in custody following his guilty pleas.
Legal anonymity
Under UK law, victims of sexual offences are entitled to lifelong anonymity. This means the victim in this case cannot be identified by the media or the public. Because naming the husband would inevitably lead to the identification of his wife, the court has ordered that his identity also remain protected.
Judge Maurice Greene is presiding over the case. The National Crime Agency (NCA) has previously described the scale of drug-facilitated sexual offending seen in cases of this nature as “deeply concerning,” noting the complex nature of investigating crimes that take place over such an extended period within a domestic setting.