UK court hears man kept over a million images of wife he drugged and raped

LONDON, Nov 3 — A man who drugged and raped his wife over two decades and allegedly invited strangers to participate had “over a million photographs and videos” on his phone cataloguing the abuse, a UK court heard Monday.

The court in Manchester, northwest England, is hearing the trial of nine men accused of various sexual offences against a woman who was abused by her husband — a man in his 60s who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity.

The husband filmed and shared images of the abuse on the “internet and social media applications” with “other like-minded men”, prosecutor Louise Oakley told the court.

Some of the defendants allegedly “hid behind a screen” and conspired with the husband over the years to administer substances to the woman so she could be “used and abused”.

And starting 2023, the prosecutor said, the husband began inviting men around to their home and filmed himself and others raping her while she was unconscious.

It is the second case involving a man accused of inviting strangers to take part in abusing his wife currently being heard in Britain. A trial in Winchester in the south involving four men opened last week.

Global awareness of the crime, known as organised drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), has grown following the high-profile conviction in France of Dominique Pelicot, who drugged and raped his then-wife Gisele for nearly a decade alongside strangers.

Oakley told the jury in Manchester that the huband’s phone, which was seized when he was arrested, was like a “confession booth” including “barbaric sexual fantasies” going back to 2004.

“There were over a million photographs and videos cataloguing not only his abuse of his wife but abuse on her committed by others, including those in the dock today,” Oakley said.

“There is no doubt he lived a double life masked in respectability,” the prosecutor said.

The husband pleaded guilty in September to some 60 sexual offences against his wife including administering a substance with intent to stupefy or overpower her.

He and 13 other men are accused of conspiring to abuse the woman. Four of the men have since pleaded guilty to various offences.

The remaining nine men, aged between 28 and 70, deny various charges including rape, sexual assault and conspiracy to administer a statement substance with intent.

They include a taxi driver, a recruitment agency worker, a building supplies worker and a senior medic. — AFP

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伦敦，11 月 3 日——英国一家法院周一获悉，一名男子在长达二十年的时间里给妻子下药并强奸她，还涉嫌邀请陌生人参与其中。他的手机里有“超过一百万张照片和视频”记录了这些虐待行为。

英格兰西北部曼彻斯特的一家法院正在审理九名男子被控对一名遭受丈夫虐待的女子实施各种性犯罪的案件。这名男子已年过六旬，为了保护受害者的身份，不能透露其姓名。

检察官路易丝·奥克利告诉法庭，丈夫将虐待的视频和照片通过“互联网和社交媒体应用程序”分享给了“其他志同道合的男人”。

据称，部分被告“躲在幕后”，多年来与丈夫合谋，给该女子服用药物，以便“利用和虐待”她。

检察官称，从 2023 年开始，丈夫开始邀请男性到家中，并拍摄自己和其他人强奸昏迷妻子的视频。

这是英国目前正在审理的第二起男子被控邀请陌生人参与虐待妻子的案件。上周，在南部温彻斯特开庭审理的一起涉及四名男子的案件。

在法国，多米尼克·佩利科特（Dominique Pelicot）与陌生人一起，对当时的妻子吉赛尔（Gisele）下药并强奸了她近十年，这一备受瞩目的罪行——有组织的毒品协助性侵犯（DFSA）——在全球范围内引起了广泛关注。

奥克利在曼彻斯特告诉陪审团，他丈夫被捕时被没收的手机就像一个“忏悔室”，里面记录着他从 2004 年起就有的“野蛮的性幻想”。

奥克利说：“有超过一百万张照片和视频记录了不仅他虐待妻子，还有其他人虐待妻子的行为，包括今天在法庭上受审的那些人。”

“毫无疑问，他过着体面的双重生活，”检察官说。

丈夫于 9 月份承认对妻子犯有约 60 项性犯罪，其中包括给妻子服用某种物质，意图使其昏迷或失去控制。

他和另外13名男子被控合谋虐待该女子。其中4名男子已对各项罪行认罪。

其余九名男子年龄在 28 岁至 70 岁之间，他们否认了包括强奸、性侵犯和串谋故意施用违禁物质在内的各种指控。

他们包括一名出租车司机、一名招聘机构工作人员、一名建材工人和一名资深医护人员。——法新社

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