74-year-old pleads guilty to raping woman drugged by her husband
Graham Brougham, 74, from Northwich in Cheshire, pleaded guilty to rape at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Thursday afternoon. He had been set to be the oldest defendant on trial in the case. The woman he admitted raping sat in the public gallery as he entered his plea, The Guardian.
The case centres on the woman being drugged by her husband, who invited other men to sexually assault her while she was unconscious. The husband cannot be named in order to protect his wife's anonymity. He has admitted to more than 60 offences and will be sentenced at a later date.
Judge Greene granted Brougham bail before sentencing. The judge told him his sentence will be custody, and a long time in custody. Before his arrest, Brougham had played in a 1970s tribute band and was a member of a walking football team.
Two other men have entered guilty pleas in connection with the investigation. Keith Fotheringham, 59, from Dundee, a former technician at Dundee's university, admitted a number of offences earlier this year. Sean Peers, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of assault by penetration last month.
Ten men deny offences including rape and attempted rape alleged to have taken place between 2018 and November 2025. They are Philip Wild, 59, from Stockport; Jordan Wallace, 31, from Manchester; Alan Keelan, 42, from Manchester; Jonathan Kirk, 43, from Stockport; and Robert Stewart, 70, from Stockport. They are Mohammed Sabir, 28, of no fixed abode; Richard Townsend, 37, from Heywood in Greater Manchester; Karl Lindsay, 55, from Taunton in Somerset; Daniel Rayner, 42, from Whitstable in Kent; and David Graves, 60, from Ilkeston in Derbyshire.
A jury has already been sworn in for the trial of the ten men at the same court. The trial was due to get under way on Monday but has been delayed for legal reasons. The prosecution is scheduled to begin its case in early November, with the trial set to conclude by the end of January next year.
The alleged abuse took place at the couple's family home in Stockport, BBC. The husband is accused of inviting 13 other men to abuse his wife.
