The key facts

  • Karl Lindsay, 56, former chief executive of Taunton Town, pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court
  • The victim's husband has previously admitted 62 offences, including rape; three other men have also admitted sexual offences
  • The trial of nine other defendants is scheduled for Monday; Lindsay will be sentenced at the end of that trial

Guilty plea at Manchester court

Karl Lindsay, 56, the former chief executive of the non-league football club Taunton Town from Somerset, has pleaded guilty to offences connected with drugging a woman for sexual purposes and raping her. This was reported by BBC News from Manchester Crown Court on Minshull Street. The offences took place between 2015 and 2025 in the Stockport area of Greater Manchester; Lindsay left the club before the charges were brought.

What has already been established in the case

The victim's husband, who is in his 60s and whose name is being withheld to protect her anonymity, has previously pleaded guilty to 62 offences against his wife, including rape. Three other men — 59-year-old Keith Fotheringham from Dundee, 38-year-old Sean Pearce from Stockport and 74-year-old Graham Brueham from Northwich — have already admitted sexual offences against the woman at earlier hearings. According to the BBC, the woman herself was present in the courtroom with a relative and watched attentively as Lindsay entered his guilty plea.

The upcoming trial

The trial of nine other defendants, who face charges of sexual offences against the same woman, is scheduled to begin on Monday after a series of postponements. They include Philip Wilde (58, Stockport), Jordan Wallace (31, Manchester), Alan Keelan (42, Manchester), Jonathan Kirk (43, Stockport), Robert Stewart (70, Stockport), Mohammed Sabir (28, of no fixed address), Richard Townsend (37, Rochdale), Daniel Rayner (42, Whitstable, Kent) and David Graves (59, Ilkeston, Derbyshire). Keelan, Kirk and Wallace deny the charges against them. All the defendants are accused of offences committed between 2015 and 2025. Lindsay has been told that he will be sentenced at the end of that trial.

Karl Lindsay, in his 50s, who is bald and clean shaven, stands on a football pitch wearing a blue gilet over a black sweatshirt and smiles at the camera.
Image caption,

Karl Lindsay was the chief executive of Taunton Town Football Club

A composite image of three of the defendants - one is bald with an earring and has a big beard, the other is in a green uniform with brown hair and the other is in a black zip up top with curly hair, a beard and earrings
Image caption,

Alan Keelan, Jonathan Kirk and Jordan Wallace deny the charges against them and, along with six others, will go on trial next week