A British man has admitted committing 60 offences of drugging and raping his wife without her knowledge for 20 years, in a stark reminder of the case of Dominique Pelicot in France.
The man had already admitted some counts, including rape, at the Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, according to a BBC report. The identity of the accused husband has been withheld by the court to protect his wife’s legal right to anonymity.
Trial Continues for Accused in Multiple Sexual Offences Case
During the ongoing trial, a man in his sixties has admitted to multiple charges, including rape and assault by penetration. The accused displayed visible emotion as he repeated the word ‘guilty’ in court. The judge intervened at one point, inviting him to sit down in the dock.
The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, is from the Stockport area of Greater Manchester. He will face sentencing for the charges he has acknowledged once the trial concludes.
A total of 14 men, including the husband of the woman involved, have been implicated in offences against the same victim. While twelve of the accused have denied the charges, one other individual has previously admitted to sexual offences against the survivor.
The trial is set to proceed in the coming weeks.
Similar case in France
Dominique Pélicot was convicted and sentenced in December 2024 to the maximum 20 years in prison by a French court for systematically drugging his wife and orchestrating her mass rape by dozens of strangers over nearly a decade. All the Frenchman’s 50 co-defendants were also found guilty of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault, while their victim, Gisele Pelicot, sat in the packed courtroom to hear the sentencing, having waived her right to anonymity.
Here we have everything detailed, even if the victim, who was unconscious during the rapes, doesn’t remember anything,” said police commissioner Jeremie Bosse Platiere at the time. “It’s rare to have so much evidence in a rape case.
