A husband, who has admitted to 62 offenses including numerous rapes against his wife over a 20-year period, communicated with men across the globe, including individuals in Texas and Hawaii, a court heard.
The trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court is hearing evidence against nine men accused of sexual offenses against the wife. Prosecutor Louise Oakley, KC, detailed the husband's extensive contact with these men via adult websites, including messages and videos he shared concerning the abuse that occurred at their home in Stockport, Greater Manchester.
In October 2019, the husband reportedly messaged a man who stated he was over 4,000 miles away in Texas. Two years later, another man in contact claimed to be in the US and en route to Hawaii. Oakley stated, "He was communicating with individuals in the UK and abroad."
The court heard that in May 2018, the husband sent an unidentified man a video of his wife appearing to be drugged while he committed a sexual assault. The following month, the husband allegedly discussed sexually abusing his wife with another unnamed man, who suggested the wife be "pill[ed] up hard." The husband then sent this man 16 images in a 17-minute period, which investigators have not recovered.
One of the defendants on trial, David Graves, 60, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, who denies three charges, allegedly discussed providing "relaxants" to the husband to make his wife "pass out." Their online conversations reportedly resumed in 2021, with Graves offering to supply tablets for the wife. Messages read in court indicated Graves and the husband discussed using these tablets, with the husband even providing his late mother-in-law's address for them to be posted.
Graves allegedly inquired in April 2021 if the tablets had been used, to which the husband replied, "It's Easter, mate, been busy. Our perversion isn’t No1 priority." Graves responded, "Sad."
During discussions about crushing the tablets to be added to food or wine, the husband claimed his wife had objected to the taste after he had put some in a curry. The court also heard that the husband shared a photo of his wife on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram. A man known as 'Contact Y' responded, asking if she was asleep or drugged, and mentioned a group on the platform for a fee of US $50, payable in Bitcoin.
The husband later posted another photo of his wife on Telegram, leading to a response from a man in the USA who was traveling to Hawaii for work and invited the couple to "have some fun."
Investigators found a pipette in a bedside drawer at the couple's home after the husband purchased tranquilisers online. On trial are David Graves, Jonathan Kirk, Robert Stewart, Mohammed Sabir, Alan Keelan, Jordan Wallace, Philip Wild, Richard Townsend, and Daniel Rayner, all denying various sexual offenses.
Additionally, Karl Lindsay, Graham Brougham, Keith Fotheringham, and Sean Peers have pleaded guilty to various sexual offenses at earlier hearings.