UPDATE – 7 OCTOBER: Since this article was published, Sean Peers, 38, of Stockport, has pleaded guilty to one count of assault by penetration against the woman. This means 11 men, including David Graves of Ilkeston, now remain due to stand trial and continue to deny the charges against them. The woman’s husband, who had already admitted 60 offences against her, has also pleaded guilty to a further count of rape and a further count of sexual assault. The remaining trial is still due to begin on 19 October.
A major sexual offences trial involving an Ilkeston man remains delayed after a husband who has admitted 60 offences against his wife provided a lengthy statement about what he says happened.
David Graves, 59, of Ilkeston, is one of 12 men who remain on trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court over alleged offences relating to the same woman.
Graves denies conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to assault by penetration and conspiracy to administer a substance with intent.
The wider case concerns allegations involving a woman whose husband has admitted a catalogue of sexual offences against her spanning more than 20 years.
The husband, who is in his 60s and from the Stockport area, cannot be named because doing so could identify his wife, who has a legal right to anonymity.
Last month, he pleaded guilty to a total of 60 offences, including rape, assault by penetration and administering a substance with intent. His admitted offending dates back to 2004.
The allegations involving the other men relate to the period from September 2018 to November 2025.
Twelve men remain on trial: Philip Wild, 58, and Sean Peers, 38, both from Stockport; Jordan Wallace, 31, and Alan Keelan, 42, both from Manchester; Jonathan Kirk, 43, and Robert Stewart, 70, both from Stockport; Mohammed Sabir, 28, of no fixed abode; Graham Brougham, 74, from Northwich, Cheshire; Richard Townsend, 37, from Rochdale; Karl Lindsay, 55, from Taunton, Somerset; Daniel Rayner, 42, from Whitstable, Kent; and Graves, from Ilkeston.
All 12 deny the charges against them.
A further defendant, Keith Fotheringham, 59, from Dundee, has previously pleaded guilty to offences and is no longer among the 12 men awaiting trial.
Husband provides lengthy statement
The latest development was revealed when jurors were brought back into court and updated by Judge Maurice Greene.
The judge told them that the husband had now made a lengthy statement about what he says happened.
He said it contained considerable detail and had been disclosed to lawyers representing the defendants, who were continuing to work through the material.
The contents of the statement have not been disclosed in current open-court reporting and it is not known publicly what, if anything, it says specifically about the defendants.
The jury was originally sworn in at the beginning of September, but the case has since been delayed for legal and practical reasons.
Jurors have now been asked to return to Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday, 19 October, when the prosecution case against the remaining 12 defendants is due to open.
The husband is due to be sentenced for the offences he has admitted at the conclusion of the trial.
His guilty pleas relate to his own offending against his wife. They do not establish the guilt of any of the other defendants, who deny the charges against them.