Husband admits 62 offences as nine men face trial

A man in his 60s has admitted 62 sexual offences against his wife, including rape and sexual assault, as nine other men stand trial over alleged offences against her. The nine defendants deny the charges, and a jury will decide their cases at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. The husband, who cannot be named to protect his wife’s legal anonymity, is awaiting sentence. Prosecutors said his guilty pleas included offences committed against her over many years. His admissions do not establish the guilt of the nine men on trial. Opening the prosecution case, Louise Oakley KC told jurors that the husband’s abuse spanned 2004 to 2025. She said he initially took advantage of occasions when his wife had been drinking and later secretly gave her drugs that left her unconscious or unable to resist. The woman, prosecutors said, was unaware of the abuse until police arrived at the couple’s home in October 2025 to arrest him. Oakley said the husband’s seized phone contained more than a million photographs and videos documenting alleged abuse, including acts involving other men. She told the court that the material also came from other devices, and that investigators found thousands of...