British man encouraged group chat members to abuse partners, exchange images

Darren Conway pleaded guilty in court on Sept 11. He was charged following an investigation into an online forum linked to multiple, international cases of men encouraging or committing drug-facilitated sexual abuse.

LONDON - A British man pleaded guilty in court on Sept 11 to encouraging other men in an online group chat to sexually abuse their unconscious partners and exchange images of the abuse.

It is the latest in a string of UK criminal cases involving men accused of abusing their partners while asleep or sedated and often going on to share images of their offences.

Darren Conway, 52, pleaded guilty to multiple charges including voyeurism, possessing an extreme pornographic image and assisting or encouraging sexual assault and the sharing of intimate images.

He admitted to messaging a man in 2025, asking the man to assault his wife while she was asleep and share images of the crime.

He also solicited images of sleeping women online at least 10 times between 2023 and 2026.

Conway was charged following an investigation by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) into an online forum linked to multiple, international cases of men encouraging or committing this type of offence, known as 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.

The judge in the north London court dealing with Conway’s case said he would be sentenced on Oct 30.

“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,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

“Conway’s actions were shocking,” Met police commander Andy Day said.

“By encouraging others to engage in sexual offending against victims who were unconscious, asleep, or otherwise stupefied, he has put women at a serious risk of harm in their own homes – all for his own sexual gratification.”

Police said while “much of the offending” on Conway’s group chat is believed to have taken place in the UK, “it is also possible that some victims are based overseas”.

In a separate case, a man in central England pleaded guilty in July to 32 sexual offences against his girlfriend while she was allegedly drugged or asleep.

In Manchester in north-west England, the husband of a woman who was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted is set to stand trial this month alongside 12 other men accused of taking part in the abuse. AFP