Man jailed for poisoning woman with abortion drugs

Stuart Worby poisoned the woman with unlawfully obtained abortion pills

A man has been jailed for 12 years for sexually assaulting a pregnant woman and giving her medication to cause a miscarriage.

Prosecutors said Stuart Worby administered the drugs in a glass of orange juice and when the victim was blindfolded under the guise of what they said was "kinky sex".

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered a miscarriage in hospital within hours of the assault.

The 40-year-old, of Malthouse Court in Dereham, Norfolk, was convicted of two counts of sexual assault against the woman and a charge of administering a poison or using an instrument with intent to procure a miscarriage.

"You must have known this was dangerous for the victim," said Judge Joel Brennathan, speaking at Norwich Crown Court.

"She spoke of the betrayal and pain and the strong possibility that you have stolen the one possibility she had to be a mother.

"You are a selfish man."

Miscarriage

The trial heard that the victim had been poisoned with two drugs - mifepristone and misoprostol - which are commonly used together to induce a miscarriage in early pregnancy.

The medications are usually given 24 hours apart and can be administered at home or at a medical clinic.

Worby gave the woman mifepristone crushed up in a glass of orange juice.

Prosecutor Edmund Vickers KC said the defendant then administered misoprostol the next day under the guise of "kinky sex", while the victim was blindfolded, so she could not see what he was doing.

The victim miscarried her 15-week-old foetus the following day, in the summer of 2022.

In a victim impact statement, the woman, who cannot be name for legal reasons, said that since the ordeal she had met a new partner but had been unable to conceive.

"The only baby that I could have had was the one I lost."

The court was shown WhatsApp conversations between Worby and his friend Wayne Finney on the night the woman was attacked

Worby asked his friend Neuza Cepeda to pose as a woman who wanted an abortion.

After a phone consultation with a doctor at a London clinic, Cepeda was sent the medication.

The pills-by-post scheme enables women who are less than 10 weeks pregnant to access abortion medication after a phone or video consultation with a doctor.

Andrew Oliver, the defence barrister for Cepeda, said she expressed genuine remorse and was "devastated that she has played a part in the harm and suffering of the victim".

Cepeda, 39, of Walnut Drive, Dereham, admitted supplying or procuring an instrument to be used with the intent to procure a miscarriage and was sentenced to 22 months in prison, but suspended for two years.

Mr Justice Bennathan told Cepeda: "Without your participation he might not have been able to do it."

Her partner Wayne Finney, 41, of Station Street, Swaffham, was accused of intentionally encouraging or assisting Cepeda - but he was cleared by the jury.

The victim has an indefinite restraining order against Worby.

DI Duncan Woodhams from Norfolk Police praised the victim's bravery and said the crime had a "huge impact" on her both physically and mentally.

"It's been one of the most horrendous crimes I've ever investigated and I hope I never have to do it again," he said.