UK man pleads guilty to using online forum to encourage sexual assault of unconscious women

North London Man Admits Encouraging Sexual Assault Through Online Forum

Activelifezero.com – A 52-year-old man from Enfield, North London, has admitted encouraging sexual offences against women who were drugged, asleep or otherwise unable to consent, following a police investigation into an online forum used by alleged offenders.

Darren Conway entered guilty pleas at Wood Green Crown Court in London on Friday. The case forms part of a broader investigation into online spaces where users have allegedly encouraged drug-facilitated sexual abuse and exchanged material connected to those crimes.

Conway pleaded guilty to nine counts of assisting or encouraging an offence. He also admitted voyeurism and possession of an extreme pornographic image. He is due to be charged on October 30.

Digital devices seized during July search

Police had identified Conway as a participant in a group chat linked to the forum. Officers searched his home on July 30, seized digital devices and arrested him.

Material recovered from those devices showed messages in which Conway encouraged other participants to sexually assault women after they had been drugged or while they were sleeping. He later urged people responsible for the assaults to post images in the chat room.

Police said Conway viewed images or footage involving sleeping women more than 10 times through the online group.

At his court appearance, Conway wore a gray tracksuit and spoke only to confirm his identity and enter his guilty pleas.

“Conway’s actions were shocking. 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,” Met Police Commander Andy Day said.

Investigation followed discovery of online forum

The Metropolitan Police found the forum in October 2025. A nationwide coordination group was subsequently formed under the leadership of the UK’s National Crime Agency to examine the activity connected with it.

Investigators are continuing to identify people seen in footage recovered from Conway’s devices. Police believe many potential victims live in the United Kingdom, while others may be based abroad.

The ongoing work highlights a central difficulty in investigations involving covert sexual abuse: some victims may not know an assault occurred until officers make contact. The National Crime Agency has said that this is the reality in many cases involving drug-facilitated abuse.

For victims, the discovery that intimate images or recordings may have been shared online can add another layer of trauma. Investigators must establish who is shown in recovered material, determine whether a crime took place and trace the people who created, possessed or distributed the content.

Wider concern over coordinated online abuse

The Conway case comes amid growing concern about digital forums that allow offenders to communicate, exchange information and encourage crimes against women who cannot consent.

In July, Europol and Britain’s National Crime Agency disclosed the results of an international operation targeting what they described as a highly organized online network. Authorities said the chat rooms were used largely by male participants to plan abuse, share images and discuss assaults involving drugged or unconscious victims.

Such forums can allow harmful conduct to move beyond private conversations. Messages that encourage or celebrate abuse can reinforce offending behavior, while shared images may create further violations of victims’ privacy and dignity. The cross-border nature of online communication also means police agencies may need to work across multiple jurisdictions to identify suspects and potential victims.

Ciara Bergman, chief executive of Rape Crisis England & Wales, said the extent of the alleged activity exposed through these forums was profoundly troubling, though not unexpected.

“Sadly, though, they are not surprising,” Bergman said. “These abuses are rooted in the same misogyny and objectification which underpin violence against women and girls the world over.”

Her comments point to the wider context of sexual violence: abuse facilitated through drugs, recording devices or online groups remains rooted in the absence of consent and in the targeting of people who are unable to protect themselves or seek help at the time.

European cases have brought issue into focus

The issue gained international attention during the case involving Gisele Pelicot in France. Her former husband received a 20-year prison sentence after soliciting dozens of strangers to rape his then-wife while she was unconscious.

The case prompted a public discussion in France about gender-based violence and the ways perpetrators can use drugs and online contact to facilitate abuse. Since then, police forces across Europe have made arrests and secured convictions in related cases.

British prosecutors said Conway’s admissions demonstrate the seriousness with which authorities view organized drug-facilitated sexual offending, including conduct that encourages others to commit abuse.

“Organized drug-facilitated sexual assault is abhorrent and we are determined to work with policing to bring offenders to justice,” said Tracy Easton, the chief prosecutor in the case. “I hope this guilty plea gives confidence to anyone who believes they may have been subjected to similar abuse to come forward.”

As the investigation continues, officers face the task of reviewing recovered material, locating possible victims and pursuing any further individuals connected to the online activity. The case also underscores the importance of reporting concerns, particularly where a person believes they may have been drugged, assaulted or recorded without consent.