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

North London man admits offenses linked to online assault forum

Healfromzero.com – A 52-year-old man from Enfield has admitted encouraging sexual offenses through an online forum in a case that has drawn attention to the risk posed by organized digital communities targeting unconscious women.

Darren Conway pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court in London on Friday to nine counts of assisting or encouraging an offense. He also admitted voyeurism and possession of an extreme pornographic image. Conway, who appeared in a gray tracksuit, spoke in court only to confirm his identity and enter his guilty pleas. He is due to be charged on October 30.

The Metropolitan Police said Conway had used a group chat to urge other participants to sexually assault women who had been drugged, were asleep or were otherwise unable to consent. He later encouraged members to post images of the abuse in the forum.

“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.

Devices seized during July arrest

Police identified Conway as a participant in the chat group after uncovering the forum in October 2025. A national coordination group led by the National Crime Agency was then established to investigate the activity.

Officers searched Conway’s home on July 30, arrested him and seized digital devices. Material recovered from those devices showed that he had viewed footage of sleeping women on more than 10 occasions, police said.

Investigators are still working to identify people shown in the recovered footage. Many potential victims are thought to be in the United Kingdom, although police believe some may live abroad. Authorities have emphasized that people affected by this type of abuse may not know an offense has taken place until police contact them during an investigation.

The case highlights the particular harm caused by drug-facilitated sexual violence. A victim who is asleep, sedated or otherwise incapacitated cannot consent, and the use of online groups can allow offenders to exchange material, normalize abuse and encourage further crimes beyond a single location.

Part of a broader international concern

Conway’s guilty plea comes amid wider concern among European investigators over online spaces where offenders coordinate assaults and circulate imagery. Europol and the National Crime Agency disclosed in July that an international operation had exposed a structured digital network involving predominantly male users.

Within such chatrooms, participants have exchanged information, images and encouragement connected with attacks on unconscious victims. The discovery has reinforced the need for cross-border cooperation, since perpetrators, digital platforms, evidence and potential victims may be located in different countries.

Ciara Bergman, chief executive of Rape Crisis England & Wales, said the scale and organization of the abuse discussed in these forums was deeply troubling.

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

The issue has also received international attention through the case of 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 widespread discussion in France about gender-based violence and the failures that can enable abuse to remain hidden.

Police forces across Europe have since made arrests and obtained convictions in related cases. Investigations can be especially complex because the evidence may include encrypted or private online communications, videos and images held on multiple devices, and victims who have no immediate knowledge of what happened to them.

Appeal for potential victims to come forward

Tracy Easton, the chief prosecutor in Conway’s case, described the conduct as a grave violation of women’s safety and privacy.

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

For potential victims, the continuing police work may be significant even where there is little or no memory of an event. Drug-facilitated assault can leave survivors uncertain about what occurred, while images or communications recovered years later may help investigators establish a fuller account of the abuse.

The case also underlines that participation in an online forum can have serious criminal consequences. The offenses admitted by Conway were not limited to viewing content: prosecutors said he actively encouraged others to commit sexual violence and to share material afterwards. The investigation remains ongoing as authorities seek to establish who appears in the recovered footage and whether further offenses were committed.