A man in his 60s wept in court as he pleaded guilty to 60 offences involving the drugging and rape of his wife over a period spanning two decades.
The defendant repeatedly broke down while admitting charges including rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault and attempted rape during a hearing this afternoon.
He also confessed to giving his wife a substance intended to stupefy or overpower her, enabling sexual activity, in offences alleged to have taken place between November 2004 and October 2025.
Dressed in a dark grey suit, blue shirt and navy tie, he additionally admitted sharing intimate images or video recordings.
The man also entered guilty pleas to eight further counts of serious sexual assault.
His wife sat in the public gallery at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court alongside relatives as he delivered the pleas over approximately 18 minutes.
She watched from the gallery while holding the hands of family members as her husband spoke softly from the dock. At one point, she bent forward with her head in her hands and appeared to wipe away tears.
The defendant, who had held a respectable job, previously admitted 15 offences. He had been expected to stand trial over the remaining 45 charges.
Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, where the husband entered his guilty pleas during an afternoon hearing
The alleged offences were committed at the couple’s family home in Stockport, Greater Manchester, and continued until his arrest in October 2025.
Thirteen other men are also accused of offences involving the woman.
The men, aged between 29 and 74, include an ambulance paramedic who was previously photographed meeting Prince Harry during a royal engagement.
The group also includes a former nightclub DJ, a football club chief executive and a university technician.
Twelve of the men have denied allegations including rape, conspiracy to rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault and conspiracy to administer a substance with intent.
Another man has pleaded guilty to offences including conspiracy to rape.
Ambulance paramedic Jonathan Kirk, 43, from Stockport, denies charges of rape, conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to commit assault by penetration between 2023 and 2025.
The oldest of the accused, pensioner Graham Brougham, 74, is charged with the same offences as Kirk, also over two years. He has entered not guilty pleas.
Meanwhile, former DJ Robert Stewart, 70, of Stockport, a divorced father-of-two and grandfather, denies two rapes and one count of conspiracy to rape between September and November 2025.
The youngest defendant, Mohammed Sabir, 29, of Heald Green, Stockport, faces five counts: three rapes, conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to commit assault by penetration between 2023 and 2025. He denies them all.
Married father-of-two Alan Keelan, 42, from Manchester, works as an accounts clerk and is a coach with Benchill Celtic Junior Football Club, Wythenshawe, one of the city’s oldest junior teams.
Keelan denies rape, two counts of attempted rape and one of conspiracy to rape between June and November 2025.
Dog walker and delivery driver Jordan Wallace, 31, from Stockport, denies rape, attempted rape and conspiracy to rape between May and November 2025.
Father-of-three Philip Wild, 58, of Stockport, a taxi driver, has pleaded not guilty to counts of attempted rape, conspiracy to rape, assault by penetration, conspiracy to commit assault by penetration and sexual assault between 2023 and 2025.
Unemployed Sean Peers, 38, of Stockport, denies he assaulted the woman by penetration and conspired to assault her by penetration between September 2024 and November 2025.
Former Taunton Football Club chief executive Karl Lindsay, 56, of Taunton, Somerset, is not accused of assaulting the victim – but of conspiracy to administer a substance with intent over two years.
The father-of-five, who has been married for over 34 years, is also accused of conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to sexually assault by penetration in the same period. He denies the charges.
Richard Townsend, 37, of Heywood, Greater Manchester, denies one count of conspiracy to commit assault by penetration and one count of assault by penetration.
Daniel Rayner, 42, from Whitstable, Kent, faces the same counts as Lindsay and has also pleaded not guilty.
And David Graves, 59, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, denies conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to commit assault by penetration and conspiracy to commit sexual assault.
The only defendant who has admitted charges is Keith Fotheringham, 59.
The twice-married father-of-two is a technician at the University of Dundee and lives in the Scottish city.
He pleaded guilty in February 2026 to four offences between 2023 and 2025: conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to commit assault by penetration, conspiracy to administer a substance with intent and assault by penetration.
All the defendants are in custody apart from Wallace, Kirk, Brougham, Keelan and Peers, who have been granted bail.
A trial is scheduled to start in October and is expected to last for at least two months.
