A British man admitted in a Manchester court on Monday to drugging and raping his wife for more than two decades, a case in which twelve other men are accused of attacking his wife when she was unconscious. This man in his sixties, whose identity cannot be revealed in order to preserve the anonymity of his wife, pleaded guilty to 60 offenses of a sexual nature, including rape and the administration of substances to sedate his wife, between 2004 and 2025.
This decision cancels the holding of his trial which was to open before the Minshull Street court in Manchester (north-west of England). Earlier in the year, this man had already pleaded guilty to several rapes and sexual assaults against his wife. He was to be tried alongside twelve other men, who deny having committed serious sexual offenses against the same woman between 2018 and 2025.
Like the Pelicot affair in France
The trial of these defendants aged 28 to 73, who include a paramedic and a former football coach, will take place and must be held in the coming weeks before a Manchester court. A thirteenth man has already pleaded guilty to several offenses, including sexual assault with penetration.
This case recalls that of Dominique Pelicot, convicted in France during a trial which had a worldwide impact in 2024. His ex-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, became a figure in the fight against sexual violence after choosing to publicly testify to the rapes committed by dozens of men recruited by her ex-husband.
Several trials of sexual violence facilitated by chemical submission have recently taken place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe. This consists of administering to a person, without their knowledge or under duress, a psychoactive substance for tort or criminal purposes.
