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A husband broke down in tears as he admitted 60 charges against him involving drugging and raping his wife over a 20-year period.
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he → see → period
The man, in his 60s, repeatedly sobbed as he gave guilty pleas this afternoon to the dozens of charges of rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault and attempted rapes.
He also admitted administering a substance 'with the intention of stupefying or overpowering' her 'so as to enable' his wife to engage in sexual activity between November 2004 and October 2025.
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He → sob → November
The man, wearing a dark grey suit, blue shirt and dark blue tie, admitted a further charge of sharing intimate pictures or video footage.
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man → wear → pictures
He pleaded guilty to eight more charges of serious sexual assault.
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He → plead → assault
The wife was present in the public gallery at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court with relatives as he entered his guilty pleas over 18 minutes.
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he → enter → minutes
She watched intently, holding family members' hands as her husband spoke quietly from the dock.
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husband → watch → dock
At one point, she leant forward with her head in her hands and appeared to wipe her eyes.
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she → lean → eyes
The husband, who held a respectable job, had already admitted 15 of the charges at an earlier hearing but was due to face trial for the other 45 counts.
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who → hold → counts
The offending by the husband was carried out at the family home in Stockport, Greater Manchester, up until the man's arrest in October 2025.
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offending → carry → October
A total of 13 other men are accused of further offences against the wife.
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total → accuse → wife
They are aged between 29 and 74 and include an ambulance paramedic once pictured meeting Prince Harry during a royal visit.
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They → include → visit
Paramedic Jonathan Kirk, 43, pictured meeting Prince Harry in 2011 after riots struck Salford
Kirk obscured his face when arriving at Minshull Street Crown Court for an earlier hearing
Robert Stewart, 70, a divorced father of two and grandfather who used to be a DJ
Also among them are a former nightclub DJ, a football club chief executive and university technician.
A total of 12 of them have denied a range of offences including rape, conspiracy to rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault and conspiracy to administer a substance with intent.
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total → picture → intent
One has pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to rape.
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One → plead → conspiracy
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.
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Kirk → deny → 2023
The oldest of the accused, pensioner Graham Brougham, 74, is charged with the same offences as Kirk, also over two years.
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oldest → accuse → years
He has entered not guilty pleas.
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He → enter → 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.
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Stewart → deny → September
Graham Brougham, 74, is the oldest of 14 defendants charged over the attacks
Brougham pictured outside court.
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Brougham → charge → court
He denies three charges of abusing the wife
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
Keith Fotheringham, 58, who has pleaded guilty to four offences between 2023 and 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.
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defendant → deny → 2023
He denies them all.
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He → deny → them
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.
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Keelan → work → June
Dog walker and delivery driver Jordan Wallace, 31, from Stockport, denies rape, attempted rape and conspiracy to rape between May and November 2025.
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Wallace → deny → May
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.
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Wild → plead → 2023
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.
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he → deny → September
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
Mohammed Sabir, 29, is the youngest defendant in the case and denies five charges
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.
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who → accuse → period
He denies the charges.
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He → deny → 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.
Father-of-three Philip Wild, 58, Stockport, a taxi driver, is also accused of five counts
Richard Townsend, 37, 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
Sean Peers, 38, pictured outside court, faces charges covering the period of September 2024 to November 2025
And David Graves, 59, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, denies conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to commit assault by penetration and conspiracy to commit sexual assault.
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Graves → deny → assault
The only other defendant who has admitted charges beside the husband is Keith Fotheringham, 59.
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who → admit → husband
The twice-married father-of-two is a technician at the University of Dundee and lives in the Scottish city.
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father → marry → 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.
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He → plead → penetration
All the defendants are in custody apart from Wallace, Kirk, Brougham, Keelan and Peers, who have been granted bail.
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who → grant → bail
A trial is scheduled to start in October and is expected to last for at least two months.
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trial → schedule → months
The Aporia
