Nigel Wilkinson, a British photographer, is accused of luring straight male models to his home for photo shoots where he would allegedly drug and rape them.
The self-described ‘fitness photographer’ has been charged with one count of rape, one count of sexual assault, five counts of voyeurism, and six counts of administering a substance with intent according to The Daily Mail.
According to testimony, he would approach men on Instagram and offer to take fully-clothed photos of the victims as long he was allowed to also take a few “semi-nude, arty, tasteful pictures’ for his own use.
The prosecutor, Sarah Regan, told the jury, "It is clear that he tapped into the modern obsession with looking good and promoting the self, to add to the number of followers and likes on social media."
His victims told the court he would offer them a drink, which they later realized was drugged, and would wake up naked, sometimes in the photographer’s bed.
One man alleges that he woke up the morning after a so-called photo shoot face down in Wilkinson’s bed unable to move, reports The Daily Mail.
“I wasn’t really capable of really moving, and I don’t think I could even really say anything,” the man told the court.
He added Wilkinson was “doing stuff” to him. The young man added, “I’m 99% sure he tried to have sex with me” as the photographer was behind him in an “obviously sexual position.”
In online Skype chats entered into evidence during the trial, Wilkinson apparently used the alias “Straight Boy Lover.”
In one chat, Wilkinson allegedly wrote “I love dumb jocks and guys stupid enough to sleep next to me.”
He also said he “liked to have sex with straight men – and that he liked to do it without them being aware of it.”
Telling another user he was “very much” into “drunk, sleeping guys,” he was asked if he had ever penetrated ‘a sleeper.’ He allegedly replied, “Oh yes, many times.”
In an October 2014 chat with another user, he said to an online user based in Romania, “I get a kick out of robbing a straight guy of his masculinity.”
The alleged assaults took place between February 2014 and December 2015.
The court case is currently underway.
