A husband who allegedly drugged and raped his wife arranged for sedatives to be sent to his deceased mother-in-law's empty home, a court heard. Co-defendant David Graves, whom the husband met online, allegedly encouraged the assaults and offered to send the husband an unknown substance in January 2021.
Prosecutor Louise Oakley told the trial that the husband, who cannot be named to protect his wife's identity, was so desperate that he provided Graves with his late mother-in-law's address to post the sedatives. The tablets did not arrive, and the husband later accused Graves of not having posted them.
Jurors were informed that the husband began abusing his wife in 2004 and started involving other men in 2015. The woman's ordeal reportedly came to an end after journalists infiltrated an online messaging forum last October and alerted the police.
The trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard that tablets eventually arrived in March 2021. According to Ms. Oakley, the tablets proved difficult to crush and had a bitter taste when mixed with wine. David Graves allegedly provided practical solutions, including hiding the substances in the wife's food.
Graves, 60, and the husband, who first contacted each other in 2018, exchanged a significant volume of messages. Graves reportedly requested new material and made derogatory comments about the wife, calling her a "slut" and an "old tart," and adding "she deserves it."
Ms. Oakley stated that Graves became "incredibly impatient" for the husband to send him images of the wife being abused. The husband allegedly responded that "our perversion isn’t number one priority," to which Ms. Oakley commented, "Well, it must have been pretty close to the top of the list."
The court heard that the first stranger to come to the husband's house was another defendant, Robert Stewart, 70, in 2016. He left without acting because the wife "stirred," Ms. Oakley said. This incident led the husband to seek drugs, as he considered alcohol unreliable on its own. Stewart reportedly provided the husband with tramadol sleeping pills.
The prosecution described this as a "blueprint for future offending" despite the "inherent dangers" of combining drugs and alcohol. The husband had also conducted online research, including news articles and charity websites, about sleeping pills, their side effects, and the use of date-rape drugs. In 2017, he visited a website with instructions on how to make the date-rape drug GHB, jurors were told.
In early 2019, the husband purchased Zolpidem sleeping tablets online. Ms. Oakley read out messages suggesting the offending occurred at various times of day and night, adding, "He thought what he was doing was fun."
The prosecution stated that the husband was explicit with other men that his wife would not consent and "wouldn't be interested." In one exchange with Graves in October 2018, when asked when he last abused his wife, the husband replied, "Don't keep a diary, lol."
On trial with Graves are Jonathan Kirk, 43, a senior paramedic; Robert Stewart, 70, a retired DJ; Mohammed Sabir, 28, a recruitment consultant; youth football coach Alan Keelan, 42; dog walker Jordan Wallace, 31; taxi driver Philip Wild, 60; metal worker Richard Townsend, 38; and Daniel Rayner, 42. All deny a variety of sexual offenses.
In September, the woman's husband of 40 years admitted 62 charges, including multiple rapes.
During the trial's opening, Ms. Oakley mentioned that Stewart had sent a message to the husband after visiting the house, urging him to "delete all images" and warning him to "remember what happened to the guy in France." The message read: "Mate, have had a bad feeling about it all day. Delete all images from your phone etc as its too risky. Remember what happened to the guy in France. Delete me from your phone and life. If she caught you out it would be a whole lot of trouble and end your marriage and ruin your life."
Ms. Oakley explained that the reference related to a man in France who had been raping his wife, Gisèle Pelicot.
Stewart, Wild, Sabir, and Kirk, all from Greater Manchester, along with Graves of Derbyshire and Rayner of Kent, deny conspiracy to rape between 2015 and 2025. Graves and Rayner also deny conspiracy to assault by penetration between 2018 and 2025. Stewart, Graves, and Rayner deny conspiracy to administer a substance with the intention of stupefying or overpowering the wife between 2015 and 2025.
Wild faces additional charges of sexual assault, attempted rape, and assault by penetration. Sabir denies three counts of rape. Wallace denies rape and attempted rape, Keelan denies two attempted rapes and assault by penetration, and Townsend denies assault by penetration. Kirk denies two counts of rape, and Stewart denies two counts of rape.
Four other men—Karl Lindsay, Graham Brougham, Keith Fotheringham, and Sean Peers—have pleaded guilty to various sexual offenses at earlier hearings. The trial is expected to last at least two months.