UK man admits using online network for sexual crimes against unconscious woman

A man has admitted using an online sexual abuse network to commit a host of sexual crimes, along with another man, against the latter’s unconscious wife.

Darren Conway, 52, pleaded guilty to 11 charges at Wood Green crown court. They included voyeurism, possession of extreme pornography and encouraging the other man to sexually abuse his wife on Conway’s behalf.

“Conway’s actions were shocking,” said Scotland Yard’s Commander Andy Day. “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.”

Day said it was a case of “drug-facilitated sexual offending” that could have a “lasting and devastating impacts on its victims”.

Conway solicited naked images of sleeping women on at least 10 occasions between 2023 and 2026, according to the indictment. While most of the charges to which he pleaded guilty on Friday related to the wife of the man with whom he was in contact, police fear there are many more victims. Officers said they were still working to identify others in footage found on Conway’s devices – adding that, “while much of the offending is believed to have taken place in the UK, it is also possible that some victims are based overseas”.

The prosecutor Alexander Agbamu said: “The indictment reflects the defendant’s involvement in an online forum which connects others who are involved in organised sexual offending and domestic abuse.” The Metropolitan police said the forum was uncovered in October 2025 in the wake of the Gisèle Pelicot case in France. Its discovery precipitated the establishment of a national coordination group led by the National Crime Agency.

Scotland Yard said Conway was arrested on 30 July after being identified as one of the group chat members. Messages officers found on his devices showed he had been encouraging fellow members to “engage in drug-facilitated sexual offending, alongside images and videos of a sexual nature”, the Met police said.

Police discovered Conway had urged the other man to remove his wife’s clothing and underwear, and to commit sexual offences against her. “He later requested that the other member share images while they sexually assaulted her … The women were unaware that he was viewing them and unable to provide consent.”

Tracy Easton, the chief crown prosecutor for the Crown. Prosecution Service in south Londonsaid: “Darren Conway committed vile acts against women in their own homes, a place where they should have been safe. Organised drug-facilitated sexual assault is abhorrent and we are determined to work with policing to bring offenders to justice. I hope this guilty plea gives confidence to anyone who believes they may have been subjected to similar abuse to come forward.”

The judge John Dodd KC told Conway he would be sentenced on 30 October.