Husband who 'let wife be raped by strangers' shared images and messages online with men from as far afield as Texas, court hears

A husband who drugged and raped his wife in a 20-year campaign of abuse was in contact with men as far afield as Texas, a court heard today.Jurors trying nine men accused of sexual offences against the wife heard details about messages and videos which the husband sent about the abuse at the family home in Stockport, Greater Manchester.Prosecutor Louise Oakley, KC, detailed extensive contact between the husband – who has admitted 62 offences including a string of rapes – and a string of other men, who were in contact via adult websites.Jurors heard that in October 2019 the husband messaged a man who said that he was over 4,000 miles away in the southern US state of Texas, while another man in contact two years later said he was in the US and on his way to Hawaii.Ms Oakley told the trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court: ‘He was communicating with individuals in the UK and abroad.’The court heard that in May 2018, the husband sent one man, who has not been identified, a video of his wife sitting on a sofa with her eyes closed while he committed a sexual assault.In July that year, the husband spoke to another unnamed man about sexually abusing the wife, who suggested they ‘pill her up hard’, it is claimed.The husband sent him a series of 16 images in a 17-minute period, which have not been recovered by investigators, Ms Oakley said. David Graves, 60, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, who denies three charges, allegedly discussed giving the wife 'relaxants' to make her 'pass out'. Jonathan Kirk, accused of two rapes, is among nine men charged with abuse of the wife Father-of-three Philip Wild, 58, Stockport, a taxi driver, also accused of four counts Richard Townsend, 38, denies a sexual offence against the same woman as the other menJurors heard that in September 2018, the husband began communicating with David Graves, 60, one of the two defendants on trial accused of sexual offences but who did not physically abuse the wife in person.Graves, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, allegedly told the husband that he had ‘some tablets – relaxants’ to ‘make her pass out’.In another online conversation in March 2019, the husband told an unidentified man how he allowed a taxi driver to abuse his wife years earlier, jurors heard.The husband said he had been ‘wanting to share for a while now’, adding: ‘Closest I ever got to sharing her was a cab driver who played with her while passed out drunk.‘I just smiled at him and he took it as a green light. Wanted a repeat ever since.’The court heard that the husband spoke to another anonymous man who said he could obtain date-rape drug GHB and discussed live-streaming the wife as she lost consciousness ‘to see the effect’. Mohammed Sabir, 29, is the youngest defendant in the case and denies four charges Jordan Wallace is pictured outside Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester Married father-of-two Alan Keelan, 42, pictured at a football club awards presentation Robert Stewart, 70, a divorced father of two and grandfather who used to be a DJ, denies two rapes and one count of conspiracy to rapeThe court heard the husband’s contact with Graves resumed in 2021, when they discussed Graves supplying tablets to use on the wife – with the husband providing his late mother-in-law’s address for them to be posted to.Ms Oakley read messages in which Graves and the husband discussed the use of tablets provided by Graves to give to the victim.In April 2021, Graves allegedly asked whether the husband had used the tablets and he had replied: ‘It’s Easter, mate, been busy. Our perversion isn’t No1 priority'.Jurors heard Graves responded: ‘Sad.’The pair discussed crushing the tablets to be put into food or wine but the husband complained that his wife had objected to the taste after he had put some of the drugs in a curry, it is claimed.The court also heard that the husband had shared a photo of the victim lying on a bed on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram - and was then messaged by a man known as ‘Contact Y’, who asked if she was asleep or drugged. Kirk pictured on arrival at court during trial, in which he is accused of rape Keelan wearing scarf and hood outside Manchester Minshull Street Crown CourtContact Y said that the husband could join a group on the platform for a fee of US $50 (£37) paid in Bitcoin.The husband posted a further photo of the victim on Telegram – resulting in a response from a man who said he was in the USA but going to Hawaii for work and suggested the husband and wife join him to ‘have some fun’.Jurors were shown a receipt for £49.94, spent by the husband buying tranquilisers online.The same contact recommended the husband use an ‘eye dropper’ to administer the drug and the court heard that police found a pipette in a bedside drawer in the couple’s home.On trial are David Graves, 60, a sales rep; Jonathan Kirk, 43, a senior paramedic; Robert Stewart, 70, a retired DJ; Mohammed Sabir, 29, a recruitment consultant; youth football coach Alan Keelan, 42; building company worker and dog walker Jordan Wallace, 31; taxi driver Philip Wild, 58; metal worker Richard Townsend, 38; and Daniel Rayner, 42, a self-employed mechanic.All deny a variety of sexual offences. One of the men involved in the case, Keith Fotheringham, 59,has admitted involvement Sean Peers, 38, pictured outside court on a previous occasion, has admitted sexual assault Graham Brougham, 74, is the oldest of 14 defendants charged over the attacks Former Taunton Town Football Club CEO Karl Lindsay, 56, has admitted chargesStewart, Wild, Sabir and Kirk, all of Stockport, Greater Manchester, Graves, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, and Rayner, of Whitstable, Kent, deny conspiracy to rape between 2015 and 2025. Graves and Rayner also deny conspiracy to assault by penetration between 2018 and 2025, while Stewart, Graves and Rayner deny conspiracy to administer a substance 'with the intention of stupefying or overpowering' the wife between 2015 and 2025.Wild is also charged with sexual assault in August 2023, plus attempted rape and assault by penetration in February 2025. Sabir denies three rapes, in February 2025 and twice in September 2025.Wallace, of Stockport, denies rape and attempted rape in May 2025, Keelan, from Manchester, denies two attempted rapes and an assault by penetration, all in June 2025.Townsend, of Heywood, Greater Manchester, denies assault by penetration in July 2025, while Kirk denies two rapes in August 2025. Stewart denies two rapes in September 2025.Four other men – Karl Lindsay, 56, of Taunton, Somerset, Graham Brougham, 74, of Northwich, Cheshire, Keith Fotheringham, 59, of Dundee, and Sean Peers, 38, of Stockport – have also pleaded guilty to various sexual offences at earlier hearings.The trial, which is expected to take at least two months, continues.