Manchester man admits 20 years of rape

A man in his sixties from northern England has admitted drugging and raping his wife at their home over more than two decades, pleading guilty at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court just before his trial was due to begin. He cannot be named because doing so would identify his wife, who is entitled to lifelong anonymity. Having previously admitted 15 offences, he pleaded guilty to 45 more - 60 in total - including 21 counts of rape, 15 of assault by penetration, 11 of sexual assault, one of sharing intimate images without consent, and administering a substance to stupefy her, over a period from 2004 to 2025.

He became visibly emotional as he repeated the word guilty to dozens of charges and was invited by the judge to sit down in the dock. His wife watched from the public gallery with her family. Twelve other men, aged 28 to 74, are charged with serious sexual offences against the same woman and deny them.