A shoe salesman from Enfield, north London, has pleaded guilty to encouraging another man to strip and sexually assault his sleeping wife, as part of a global network of men who drugged and raped their partners while sharing footage online. Darren Conway, 52, admitted 11 charges, including nine counts of encouraging others to sexually assault unconscious, asleep or drugged women on an internet forum between 2023 and 2026, alongside voyeurism and possessing extreme pornography. The case forms part of a National Crime Agency investigation launched after the trial of Dominique Pelicot in France, whose sentencing for arranging the repeated rape of his sedated wife, Gisèle Pelicot, shocked the world.

Conway is one of eight men arrested in the UK as investigators work with dozens of countries, including France, Germany, Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands and the US, to identify nearly 300 people linked to the forum. Members reportedly shared videos of sedated women being assaulted, sometimes by multiple offenders, and swapped advice on sedatives, while evidence showed Conway had watched sleeping women online more than ten times without their knowledge. He appeared at Wood Green Crown Court, where a judge remanded him in custody and warned the offences were "extremely serious"; sentencing was set for 30 October, with prosecutors saying further charges may follow.