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Husband Drugged and Raped Wife, Invited Others to Share Images Online, Court Hears

A husband who has admitted drugging and raping his wife was invited to share photographs and videos of her with an online channel followed by about 4,000 people, a court heard on Wednesday.

The material was to be distributed through the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, jurors were told.

Separately, two men who contacted the husband about having sex with his wife allegedly said they would do so only with her consent because they did not want to be accused of rape.

Nine men are standing trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court over alleged sexual offences against the woman. Her husband has admitted 62 charges.

The husband, who is from Stockport, Greater Manchester, cannot be named in order to protect his wife’s identity.

The court previously heard that he drugged and raped his wife over a period of 20 years and was sent instructional videos explaining how to administer the substances.

On Wednesday, jurors were shown messages exchanged between the husband and men he encountered through a Telegram group.

Prosecutor Louise Oakley KC said the husband was invited to join the group in March 2022 by an unnamed man referred to as Contact Y.

Robert Stewart, 70, a divorced father of two and grandfather who used to be a DJ, was sent a picture of the wife on New Year's Eve in 2021, it is alleged

Robert Stewart, 70, a divorced father of two and grandfather who previously worked as a DJ, allegedly received a photograph of the woman on New Year’s Eve in 2021

Philip Wild, 59, was the first to visit the husband and wife's home in 2023, the court was told

Philip Wild, 59, was the first alleged contact offender to visit the couple’s home in 2023, the court heard

Dog walker and delivery driver Jordan Wallace, 31, from Stockport, is accused of rape

Jordan Wallace, 31, a dog walker and delivery driver from Stockport, is accused of rape

Mohammed Sabir, 29, is the youngest defendant in the case and denies four charges

Mohammed Sabir, 29, the youngest defendant, denies four charges

As a condition of joining the group, the husband allegedly sent Contact Y four videos showing his unconscious wife.

Contact Y then instructed him on how to place his wife “in a more sexy position” and said: “I will share it on the channel… we have around 4,000 viewers.”

Another unnamed man, known as Contact X, allegedly asked the husband for videos in return for footage showing him drugging his own wife with a substance administered using a child’s medicine syringe.

He told the husband: “I could send vids on me drugging my wife; if you could send me vids of your wife, it would be much appreciated.”

The husband also discussed the possibility of group members having sex with his wife, although some allegedly expressed reluctance to do so without her consent.

In May 2022, Contact Z told him: “If I’m going to have sex with her, I need her consent. I need to hear it, otherwise it’s rape.”

Married father-of-two Alan Keelan, 42, pictured at a football club awards presentation

Alan Keelan, 42, a married father of two, pictured at a football club awards presentation

Jonathan Kirk, accused of two rapes, is among nine men charged with abuse of the wife

Jonathan Kirk, who is accused of two rapes, is one of nine men charged over the alleged abuse

David Graves, 60, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, denies three charges

David Graves, 60, from Ilkeston, Derbyshire, denies three charges

Richard Townsend, 38, denies a sexual offence against the same woman as the other men

Richard Townsend, 38, denies a sexual offence against the woman

The husband replied: “Yeah, I get it, understand.”

In September 2022, another man, Contact Q, discussed drug use with the husband and allegedly said: “Work on the drugs first, a couple of trial runs. I’m not prepared to be accused of rape.”

The jury also heard that the husband messaged Robert Stewart on New Year’s Eve in 2021 and sent him a photograph of his wife lying on a bed with her breasts and private parts exposed.

The first alleged contact offender to visit the family home was Philip Wild, 59, a taxi driver, the court was told.

Jurors were shown three still images and a video allegedly recorded by the husband, showing Wild, who is also from the Stockport area, standing beside the woman’s bed and sexually assaulting her.

The material was recorded in the early hours of Sunday, August 20, 2023.

Jonathan Kirk pictured outside Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court

Jonathan Kirk pictured outside Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court

Jordan Wallace pictured outside the court in Manchester where he is one of nine men on trial

Jordan Wallace outside the Manchester court, where he is one of nine men on trial

Alan Keelan pictured outside court wearing hood and scarf across his face

Alan Keelan pictured outside court with a hood and scarf covering his face

The husband later shared the images and told Contact Q on Telegram: “The taxi driver got a feel last night.”

He also told another man, referred to as Contact AS: “Had a guy feeling her a bit last night but she wasn’t totally out of it.”

The court heard that the husband had also discussed the alleged sexual abuse of his wife with men in Norway, Canada and Texas.

Those on trial are David Graves, 60, a sales representative; Jonathan Kirk, 43, a senior paramedic; Robert Stewart, 70, a retired DJ; Mohammed Sabir, 29, a recruitment consultant; youth football coach Alan Keelan, 42; building company worker and dog walker Jordan Wallace, 31; taxi driver Philip Wild, 59; metal worker Richard Townsend, 38; and Daniel Rayner, 42, a self-employed mechanic.

One of the men involved in the case, Keith Fotheringham, 59, previously admitted his role in the abuse and pleaded guilty to four offences between 2023 and 2025

Keith Fotheringham, 59, previously admitted his role in the abuse and pleaded guilty to four offences committed between 2023 and 2025

Sean Peers, 38, has pleaded guilty to offences against the woman at an earlier hearing

Sean Peers, 38, pleaded guilty to offences against the woman at an earlier hearing

Graham Brougham, 74, is the oldest of 14 defendants charged over the attacks

Graham Brougham, 74, is the oldest of 14 defendants charged over the alleged attacks

Former Taunton Town Football Club CEO Karl Lindsay, 56, has admitted charges

Former Taunton Town Football Club chief executive Karl Lindsay, 56, has admitted charges

The nine men on trial deny the various sexual offences alleged against them.

Stewart, Wild, Sabir and Kirk, all from Stockport, Greater Manchester, along with Graves, from Ilkeston, Derbyshire, and Rayner, from Whitstable, Kent, deny conspiring to rape between 2015 and 2025.

Graves and Rayner also deny conspiring to assault by penetration between 2018 and 2025. Stewart, Graves and Rayner deny conspiring to administer a substance “with the intention of stupefying or overpowering” the woman between 2015 and 2025.

Wild also faces allegations of sexual assault in August 2023, as well as attempted rape and assault by penetration in February 2025. Sabir denies three rapes, alleged to have occurred in February 2025 and twice in September 2025.

Wallace, from Stockport, denies rape and attempted rape in May 2025. Keelan, from Manchester, denies two attempted rapes and an assault by penetration, all alleged to have occurred in June 2025.

Townsend, from Heywood, Greater Manchester, denies assault by penetration in July 2025, while Kirk denies two rapes alleged to have taken place in August 2025. Stewart denies two rapes alleged to have occurred in September 2025.

Four other men—Karl Lindsay, 56, from Taunton, Somerset; Graham Brougham, 74, from Northwich, Cheshire; Keith Fotheringham, 59, from Dundee; and Sean Peers, 38, from Stockport—have pleaded guilty to various sexual offences at earlier hearings.

The trial is expected to last at least two months and is continuing.