A man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a pregnant woman and giving her abortion drugs against her knowledge in a case described as being “the first of its kind.”
Stuart Worby was found guilty at Norfolk Crown Court on Wednesday, with the court hearing chilling details of how the 40-year-old had crushed two sets of abortion pills into a glass of orange juice. He had been able to get hold of the pills through his accomplice, a 39-year-old female friend, who pleaded guilty to supplying the abortion drugs.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lost her unborn baby in hospital within hours of the assault, which took place in the summer of 2022.
Prosecutors said that Worby and his co-defendant had “put their heads together” to get hold of abortion pills to end the pregnancy, with the jury urged to put aside emotion and consider its verdict in a “calm and dispassionate manner.”
The court heard how Worby carried out the assault after blindfolding the pregnant woman under the guise of “kinky sex.” He was convicted of two counts of sexual assault and a separate charge of administering a poision or using an instrument with intent to procure a miscarriage. The jury found Worby guilty in a unanimous verdict, delivered after more than five hours of deliberation.
Detective Constable Inspector Duncan Woodhams from Norfolk Police, who led the investigation, said it had been a “complex” case which looked into the “deceitful” and “determined” actions of Worby “which had such horrific consequences and marks the first of its kind in finding someone guilty of this specific crime.”
Nicola Pope of the Crown Prosecution Service, meanwhile, said that the victim has been “forced” to take the abortion pills “without her knowledge or consent.”
Another man, Worby’s co-defendant in the case, was Wayne Finney, aged 41. Finnish stood trial accused of intentionally encouraging or assisting Worby – however he was found not guilty by the jury.
Finney claimed he had only helped Worby to research abortion.
Text messages exchanged between the two men showed them discussing whether or not the forced abortion had been effective
“How do you know if it didn’t work?” Finney asked, to which Worby replied: “Can I call you?”
“Yes,” Finney responded, which was followed by Worby replying: “It’s working mate.”
“How do you know?” Finney asked his friend, to which Worby responded: “There’s lots of blood and it’s all coming out.”
“God is she ok?” Finney said in reply.
Mr Finney’s girlfriend Neuza Cepeda, 39, of Walnut Drive, Dereham, had already admitted supplying or procuring an instrument to be used with the intent to procure a miscarriage in connection with the case.
Other incriminating evidence found by police included a Whatsapp message where Worby wrote: “It didn’t work bro, can vanessa [another name for Cepeda] get on phone tomorrow and say she needs more.”
The jury heard how Worby met Cepeda at a pub the day before the assault, where she handed him the pills in a white envelope, He had also paid for her abortion consultation where she was supplied with the drugs.
During the case, prosecutors heard how the abortion drugs, mifepristone and misoprostal, had been given to the woman without her knowledge. The two abortion drugs are usually given 24 hours apart, and are usually prescribed following an abortion consultation. Worby first gave the victim mifepristone crushed up in a glass of orange juice, while he asminisgeeed misoprostol the next day, under the guise of “kinky sex” – blindfolding the woman so she could not see what she was doing.
The 15-week-old unborn baby died the next day. The victim told the court that she has wanted the baby and had not knowingly taken the abortion pills.
Toxicology reports found traces of mifepristone in her blood and foetal tissue. It was when the victim found text messages on Worby’s phone to Mr Finney that she contacted the police.
Worby denied all the offences during the trial, claiming that he had acquired the medication unlawfully, but claimed he never gave it to the woman.
High Court Judge Joel Bennathan QC, who presided over the trial, warned Worby he would face an immediate custodial sentence.
“Mr Worby must understand the sentencing audit I will carry out is around how many years he will serve,” said Mr Justice Bennathan.
Worby and Ms Cepeda are due to be sentenced on 6 December.
Since remote abortion consultations were introduced in the Covid lockdown of 2020, campaigners and politicians have voiced concerns about the dangers posed by the lack of in person consultation.
Medics, both in the UK and Ireland, have called on the government to amend legislation to make ultrasounds a legal requirement prior to women seeking abortions.