Fitness photographer who used his job to lure men before drugging and raping them sentenced to additional 20.5 years in prison
An amateur fitness photographer who used his job to lure unsuspecting men into his house before drugging and sexually assaulting them was sentenced to around 20.5 years behind bars.
Forty five-year-old Nigel Wilkinson was convicted of nine offenses against six men by the Bristol Crown Court.
According to the Daily Mail, Wilkinson had previously been sentenced to 11.5 years in prison in 2016 after admitting to two counts of rape and three counts of administering a substance with intent to rape.
This week's trial saw a judge find the 45-year-old guilty of one more count of rape, five more counts of administering stupefying drugs, as well as three counts of voyeurism and means he has been convicted of offenses against a total of nine men.
Police first began investigating Wilkinson over the rape of a 19-year-old man in Kent and arrived at his home in April 2016 to arrest him.
When they arrived, they found a second victim asleep on his sofa and a test subsequently revealed both men had traces of sedatives in their urine.
As the investigation proceeded, the authorities identified a third victim — a 19-year-old from Wiltshire who was also found to have traces of sedatives in his system.
As the media began reporting on the rapes, several other men said they had also been sexually assaulted by Wilkinson, with seven of them willing to assist the police in their investigation against him.
It emerged that Wilkinson would use his pseudo-business, Wilko Photography, to attract men interested in fitness modeling, contacting them through social media to arrange a photo shoot in Bristol and then encouraging them to stay over at his house. Once he lured victims to his makeshift home studio, he would give them drinks spiked with sedatives before raping them and taking pictures.
During his recently-concluded trial, the jury heard about Wilkinson's motivations behind raping his victims. "I get a kick out of robbing a straight guy out of his masculinity," the 45-year-old can be heard saying during a Skype conversation.
When asked by the other person if he was "into drunk sleeping guys," Wilkinson, who had a username of 'Straight Boy Lover,' replied, "Very much so." He also confirmed he had penetrated the victims and that all were virgins, adding, "I love dumb jocks and guys stupid enough to sleep next to me."
Lead investigator DI Larisa Hunt said that their investigation, dubbed Operation Brooklyn, examined thousands of pieces of digital media to trace Wilkinson's victims and offenses and thanked all for their "courage and willingness" to assist them "despite the emotional and psychological toll this has had on their lives."