The Independent says Conway admitted nine counts of a 'sleeping wife'; the Guardian says 11 charges and an 'unconscious woman'
Darren Conway, 52, pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court to crimes tied to an online forum police say shared videos of drug-facilitated sexual offending. Both reports list the same pleas. They lead with different numbers and use different words for the woman.
The plea. Darren Conway, 52, from Enfield, north London, pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday. The Guardian and The Independent list the same pleas: nine counts of assisting or encouraging an offence, one of voyeurism and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image. That makes 11. The Guardian gives the total. The Independent's photo caption gives only the nine.
The woman. Most of the charges concern the wife of another man in the forum. The Independent reports that Conway messaged that man in 2025, asking him to touch her sexually and remove her clothes.
| The Independent | The Guardian | |
|---|---|---|
| Headline word | "sleeping wife" | "unconscious woman" |
| Number led with | nine counts | 11 charges |
| Forum found | "in 2025" | October 2025, after the Gisèle Pelicot case, the Met says |
| More victims | not reported | police "fear there are many more", some possibly overseas |
Both quote Commander Andy Day of the Metropolitan Police on victims "unconscious, asleep, or otherwise stupefied". Neither quotes a charge that says which she was.
Who speaks. Both reports quote the same three officials: Day, Tracy Easton of the Crown Prosecution Service and the prosecutor, Alexander Agbamu. Neither quotes the defence or any victim.
Not settled. Whether the woman was drugged or asleep. Whether the husband who carried out the assaults has been identified or charged: neither report says. How many other victims there are. Judge John Dodd KC is due to sentence Conway on 30 October.
What this is about. A man in north London has admitted helping to direct the sexual abuse of a woman he never touched. He did it by messaging her husband through an online forum.
How it got here. In France, Dominique Pelicot was convicted in Avignon in December 2024 of drugging his wife, Gisèle Pelicot, over nearly a decade. He also recruited men online to rape her while she was unconscious. She chose to waive her anonymity and have the trial held in public. That made the case known around the world, along with the crime at its centre: a partner drugs a woman and invites strangers to abuse her, and the abuse is filmed and shared. In France this is called "chemical submission". The Guardian and The Independent say Darren Conway's case grew out of a forum where men shared this kind of material. The Metropolitan Police calls it drug-facilitated sexual offending.
Why he can be guilty without being there. Under the Serious Crime Act 2007, the law of England and Wales makes it a crime to assist or encourage someone else to commit an offence, even if you are somewhere else. Voyeurism is a crime under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. So is possessing an extreme pornographic image, under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. The 2003 Act also presumes that a person who is asleep or unconscious did not consent.
The people involved. - The Metropolitan Police investigated the forum. - The Crown Prosecution Service decides who is charged in England and Wales. - A judge at Wood Green Crown Court will decide the sentence.
What is at stake. Conway's guilty plea shows that a man who directs abuse from a distance can be convicted in England even though he never touched the woman. It does not tell us about anyone else. Neither report says whether the husband has been charged. The Guardian reports that police think there are more victims, some possibly abroad, and neither report says how far the investigation will go.
Where it stands. Conway has pleaded guilty and is due to be sentenced on 30 October.
What is being argued about
- Whether the plea was nine counts or 11: both reports carry the same 11
- 'Sleeping' or 'unconscious': two words for one woman, and no charge quoted that settles it
- How many other victims police are still trying to identify
- What has happened to the husband who carried out the assaults
Claims and verdicts
The Guardian
The Guardian
🇬🇧UK ·
newspaper · independent
The Independent
The Independent
🇬🇧UK ·
digital · independent
Man admits encouraging another man to sexually assault sleeping wife
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at The Independent →
What we have measured
Accused party response Russia's side is reported as no comment. ×1A company statement about itself, taken as a "reveals" rather than "says", for a company's account of its own product ×1A count stated flat four crimes is given as a settled number in the headline, with no court, charge or jurisdiction attached ×1Actor named No actor named for the cut-short or for the clashes ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
The Guardian
The Guardian
🇬🇧UK ·
newspaper · independent
The Independent
The Independent
🇬🇧UK ·
digital · independent
Man admits encouraging another man to sexually assault sleeping wife
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at The Independent →
What we have measured
Accused party response Russia's side is reported as no comment. ×1A company statement about itself, taken as a "reveals" rather than "says", for a company's account of its own product ×1A count stated flat four crimes is given as a settled number in the headline, with no court, charge or jurisdiction attached ×1Actor named No actor named for the cut-short or for the clashes ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
The Guardian
The Guardian
🇬🇧UK ·
newspaper · independent
The Independent
The Independent
🇬🇧UK ·
digital · independent
Man admits encouraging another man to sexually assault sleeping wife
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at The Independent →
What we have measured
Accused party response Russia's side is reported as no comment. ×1A company statement about itself, taken as a "reveals" rather than "says", for a company's account of its own product ×1A count stated flat four crimes is given as a settled number in the headline, with no court, charge or jurisdiction attached ×1Actor named No actor named for the cut-short or for the clashes ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Who wrote it
The Independent
The Guardian
Coverage, outlet by outlet
The Independent
The Independent
🇬🇧UK ·
digital · independent
Man admits encouraging another man to sexually assault sleeping wife
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at The Independent →
What we have measured
Accused party response Russia's side is reported as no comment. ×1A company statement about itself, taken as a "reveals" rather than "says", for a company's account of its own product ×1A count stated flat four crimes is given as a settled number in the headline, with no court, charge or jurisdiction attached ×1Actor named No actor named for the cut-short or for the clashes ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
— independent
The Guardian
The Guardian
🇬🇧UK ·
newspaper · independent
ABC News (Australia)
ABC News (Australia)
🇦🇺AU ·
public broadcaster · public-service
What we have measured
Actor label and hedge The same man is called 'far-right' and named by his legal name. The act is hedged with 'allegedly', where the longer report states it flat. ×1A different count, stated flat one dead and 140 missing, unattributed, earliest of the four ×1Affected counted The only report to count the local people affected ×1Are the dead named one of the dead named, through a relative at the hospital ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
C
CBC News
BBC News
BBC News
🇬🇧UK ·
public broadcaster · public-service
What we have measured
Dating and attribution 'It was not until Tuesday' is a judgement about delay, not a date. No other report we hold comments on how long the German finding took. ×1How hard the claim is stated Headline says the UN voted to adopt and replace; the last sentence of the report says the vote is non-binding ×1How hard the claim is stated The qualification arrives in the last sentence and is immediately overridden by an effect the report gives no source for. ×1Which figure is used States the replacement as done — the Assembly voted to replace the map — where the resolution urges states to use a different projection. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
🇬🇧UK ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
The Times
The Times
🇬🇧UK ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →