UK Man Pleads Guilty To Encouraging Sexual Abuse Of Drugged Women

A British man has pleaded guilty to encouraging other men in an online group chat to sexually abuse their unconscious partners and exchange images of the abuse. Darren Conway, 52, has admitted to messaging a man last year, asking him to assault his wife while she was asleep and share images of the crime. Conway also solicited images of sleeping women online at least 10 times between 2023 and 2026. The charges come as part of an investigation by Britain's National Crime Agency into an online forum linked to multiple, international cases of men encouraging or committing drug-facilitated sexual abuse. Global awareness of the crime 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. Conway will be sentenced on October 30. The messages found on his devices showed Conway encouraging other group chat members to engage in drug-facilitated sexual offending, alongside images and videos of a sexual nature. The judge described Conway's actions as shocking, saying he put women at a serious risk of harm in their own homes for his own sexual gratification. Police believe much of the offending on Conway's group chat took place in the UK, but some victims may be based overseas. In a separate case, a man in central England pleaded guilty to 32 sexual offences against his girlfriend while she was allegedly drugged or asleep. A man in Manchester is set to stand trial this month alongside 12 other men accused of taking part in the abuse. The cases are part of a growing trend of men abusing their partners while they are asleep or sedated, and sharing images of the abuse online.