A 74-year-old grandfather has admitted raping a woman who had been drugged and sexually abused by her husband without her knowledge.
Graham Brougham was due to face trial next week alongside 10 other men, all of whom deny allegations of sexual offences involving the same woman.
However, at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Thursday afternoon, Brougham pleaded guilty to one count of rape committed in September 2024.
Brougham, a twice-married man from Northwich, Cheshire, has two adult children and at least one grandchild. He previously played in a Steely Dan tribute band and is also an amateur carpenter and walking football player.
He is the oldest of 14 men accused of a series of sexual offences against the woman at her family home in the Stockport area of Greater Manchester.
The woman watched from the public gallery as Brougham entered his guilty plea. A relative sat beside her, holding her hand.
Graham Brougham, 74, is the oldest of 14 defendants charged over the attacks
Brougham pictured outside court. He pleaded guilty to raping the woman
The husband, who cannot be named for legal reasons, previously admitted 62 offences against his wife between October 2004 and November 2025.
The charges include rape, sexual assault and administering a noxious substance.
Two other men, Keith Fotheringham, 59, from Dundee, and Sean Peers, 38, from Stockport, have also pleaded guilty to sexual offences against the woman.
A further 10 men deny allegations that they abused the woman between January 2015 and November 2025. They are due to stand trial.
The husband, Brougham, Fotheringham and Peers will be sentenced after the trial of the remaining defendants has concluded.
Judge Maurice Green granted Brougham bail until then, but cautioned him: “You should be under no illusion, the sentence will be custody and a long time.”
Sean Peers, 38, pictured outside court on a previous occasion, pleaded guilty to assault by penetration
Keith Fotheringham, 59, previously admitted his involvement in the abuse and pleaded guilty to four offences
Paramedic Jonathan Kirk, 43, pictured meeting Prince Harry in 2011 after riots in Salford, is among the 10 men due to stand trial over their alleged roles in the sexual abuse of the woman
Robert Stewart, 70, a divorced father of two and grandfather who previously worked as a DJ, denies two counts of rape and one count of conspiracy to rape
The trial has been postponed for legal and practical reasons and is now scheduled to begin on November 2. A further pre-trial hearing is set for October 27.
The 10 men who are due to face trial range in age from 29 to 70.
They include an ambulance paramedic once pictured meeting Prince Harry during a royal visit as well as a former nightclub DJ and an ex-football club chief executive.
Ambulance paramedic Jonathan Kirk, 43, from Stockport, denies charges of rape, conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to commit assault by penetration.
DON’T MISS: Report: CBS News London Staff Reprimanded Over Gaza Death Toll Cut
Married father-of-two Alan Keelan, 42, pictured at a football club awards presentation
Keelan covered his face with his hood as he arrived at court for an earlier hearing in March
Dog walker and delivery driver Jordan Wallace, 31, from Stockport, is accused of rape
Jordan Wallace is pictured outside Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester
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.
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.
Mohammed Sabir, 29, is the youngest defendant in the case and denies five charges
Father-of-three Philip Wild, 59, Stockport, a taxi driver, is also accused of five counts
Richard Townsend, 38, denies two sexual offences against the same woman as the other men
Karl Lindsay, a 56-year-old father of five, enjoys a glass of wine with his wife on holiday
David Graves, 60, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, denies three charges
Dog walker and delivery driver Jordan Wallace, 31, from Stockport, denies rape, attempted rape and conspiracy to rape.
Father-of-three Philip Wild, 59, 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.
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.
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, 38, 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, 60, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, denies conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to commit assault by penetration and conspiracy to commit sexual assault.
All the other defendants are in custody apart from Wallace, Kirk, Keelan and Peers, who have been granted bail.
