A grandfather has today admitted sexually abusing a woman who was drugged and raped by her own husband without her knowledge.
Graham Brougham, 74, was due to go on trial next week along with 10 other men who all deny various allegations involving sexual offending against the same woman.
But, appearing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court this afternoon, he admitted one charge of raping the woman in September 2024.
Twice-married Brougham, from Northwich, Cheshire, who has two grown-up children and at least one grandchild, used to play in a Steely Dan tribute band and is an amateur carpenter and walking footballer.
He is the oldest of a total of 14 men accused of a range of sexual offences against the woman at her family home in the Stockport area of Greater Manchester.
The woman watched on from the public gallery as Brougham entered his guilty plea, with a relative sat alongside her holding her hand.
Graham Brougham, 74, is the oldest of 14 defendants charged over the attacks
Brougham pictured outside court. He pleaded guilty to raping the wife
The husband, who, along with his wife, can’t be named for legal reasons, previously pleaded guilty to 62 offences against her between October 2004 and November 2025.
They include rape, sexual assault and administering a noxious substance.
Two other men, Keith Fotheringham, 59, of Dundee, and Sean Peers, 38, of Stockport, have also pleaded guilty to various sexual offences against her.
Ten more men are due to stand trial having denied abusing the same woman between January 2015 and November 2025.
The husband, along with Brougham, Fotheringham and Peers, will be sentenced at the end of the trial involving those defendants.
Judge Maurice Green granted Brougham bail until then, but warned him: 'You should be under no illusion, the sentence will be custody and a long time.'
Sean Peers, 38, pictured outside court on a previous occasion, pleaded guilty to assault by penetration
One of the men involved in the case, Keith Fotheringham, 59, previously admitted his role in the abuse and pleaded guilty to four offences
Paramedic Jonathan Kirk, 43, pictured meeting Prince Harry in 2011 after riots struck Salford, is among 10 men due to stand trial over their alleged roles in the sexual abuse of the wife
Robert Stewart, 70, a divorced father of two and grandfather who used to be a DJ, denies two rapes and one count of conspiracy to rape
The trial has been delayed for legal and practical reasons and is now due to start on November 2, with a further pre-trial hearing on October 27.
The 10 men now due to stand trial are aged between 29 and 70.
They include an ambulance paramedic once pictured meeting Prince Harry during a royal visit as well as a former nightclub DJ and an ex-football club chief executive.
Ambulance paramedic Jonathan Kirk, 43, from Stockport, denies charges of rape, conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to commit assault by penetration.
Married father-of-two Alan Keelan, 42, pictured at a football club awards presentation
Keelan covered his face with his hood as he arrived at court for an earlier hearing in March
Dog walker and delivery driver Jordan Wallace, 31, from Stockport, is accused of rape
Jordan Wallace is pictured outside Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester
Meanwhile, former DJ Robert Stewart, 70, of Stockport, a divorced father of two and grandfather, denies two rapes and one count of conspiracy to rape.
The youngest defendant, Mohammed Sabir, 29, of Heald Green, Stockport, faces five counts: three rapes, conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to commit assault by penetration between 2023 and 2025. He denies them all.
Married father-of-two Alan Keelan, 42, from Manchester, works as an accounts clerk and is a coach with Benchill Celtic Junior Football Club, Wythenshawe, one of the city's oldest junior teams.
Keelan denies rape, two counts of attempted rape and one of conspiracy to rape.
Mohammed Sabir, 29, is the youngest defendant in the case and denies five charges
Father-of-three Philip Wild, 59, Stockport, a taxi driver, is also accused of five counts
Richard Townsend, 38, denies two sexual offences against the same woman as the other men
Karl Lindsay, a 56-year-old father of five, enjoys a glass of wine with his wife on holiday
David Graves, 60, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, denies three charges
Dog walker and delivery driver Jordan Wallace, 31, from Stockport, denies rape, attempted rape and conspiracy to rape.
Father-of-three Philip Wild, 59, of Stockport, a taxi driver, has pleaded not guilty to counts of attempted rape, conspiracy to rape, assault by penetration, conspiracy to commit assault by penetration and sexual assault.
Former Taunton Football Club chief executive Karl Lindsay, 56, of Taunton, Somerset, is not accused of assaulting the victim – but of conspiracy to administer a substance with intent.
The father of five, who has been married for over 34 years, is also accused of conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to sexually assault by penetration in the same period. He denies the charges.
Richard Townsend, 38, of Heywood, Greater Manchester, denies one count of conspiracy to commit assault by penetration and one count of assault by penetration.
Daniel Rayner, 42, from Whitstable, Kent, faces the same counts as Lindsay and has also pleaded not guilty.
And David Graves, 60, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, denies conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to commit assault by penetration and conspiracy to commit sexual assault.
All the other defendants are in custody apart from Wallace, Kirk, Keelan and Peers, who have been granted bail.