Sex attacker faces life sentence for partner abuse

A man who admitted 32 sexual offences against his girlfriend while she was allegedly drugged or asleep has been warned he could face a life sentence.

The defendant, aged in his 40s and who cannot be named for legal reasons, also recorded some of the attacks which happened between January 2014 and September 2025.

Ten of the offences, including rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration, were committed "together with a person unknown", Northampton Crown Court heard.

Judge David Herbert KC told the offender, who is due to be sentenced on 18 September, that a "very substantial prison sentence is inevitable".

Details of the man's identity and where the offences took place have been withheld to protect the victim's right to anonymity.

He was visibly emotional while admitting 12 offences of rape, 14 counts of assault by penetration and six counts of sexual assault.

The defence disputed the prosecution's claim the victim was drugged during all of the offences, the court heard.

However, prosecutor Alexandra Felix KC said: "The prosecution maintains all of these offences were committed whilst the victim had been drugged and stupefied."

She explained the issue was whether the victim was "asleep or had been drugged".

The judge said he would consider "whether a life sentence is appropriate" ahead of sentencing in September.

Andrew Hopkinson, of the Crown Prosecution Service in the East Midlands, described the man's offending as "a sustained campaign of abuse" and praised the victim's courage.

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