A man in his 60s has been charged in the UK with drugging and raping his wife and inviting several men to sexually assault her while she was unconscious. According to Sky News, the case involves a number of co-defendants and is being followed closely as it moves through the courts in the north of England.
Reporting restrictions apply to protect the woman at the center of the case. Sky News said the alleged victim and her husband cannot be named in order to safeguard her identity, meaning the central figure facing the most serious accusations is not being publicly identified.
The allegations extend beyond the husband to a group of other men who have been charged as co-defendants. The prosecution's case centers on a plot to drug and abuse the woman, with several individuals accused of taking part in or facilitating the alleged assaults while she was incapacitated.
Among those named is Carl Lindsay, a 55-year-old who, according to Sky News, is accused of supplying drugs to incapacitate the alleged victim and of receiving photos and videos of the abuse in return, allegations that he denies. Sky News reported that he resigned as the chief executive of Taunton Town Football Club around the time of his arrest last year.
The co-defendants also include Jonathan Kirk, a 43-year-old senior paramedic who, Sky News noted, had met Prince Harry during a visit to Salford Ambulance Station after the riots in 2011. He and a number of the other accused men deny a range of charges, including rape, conspiracy to rape and assault by penetration.
Not all of the accused are contesting the case. Keith Fotheringham, a 59-year-old from Dundee, has admitted charges including conspiracy to rape and to administer a substance, according to Sky News, while other co-defendants have denied similar charges against them.
The case is one of the most serious of its kind to come before the courts in the region, and the proceedings are continuing. With reporting restrictions in place to shield the alleged victim, attention is likely to focus on how the prosecutions of the husband and the group of co-defendants unfold in the weeks ahead.