 |
| Nigel Wilkinson has been jailed for raping men he invited to his home for ‘photoshoots’ |
An amateur photographer who drugged and raped straight men after using Instagram to lure them to modelling shoots has been jailed for 11 and a half years.
Nigel Wilkinson, 43, met his victims on the social network before inviting them to his house in Bristol for ‘male fitness’ photoshoots.
But once there he would ply them with drink and drugs – including Rohypnol – to render them ‘senseless and incapable’.
Wilkinson pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and three counts of administering a substance with intent to rape at Bristol Crown Court.
He also admitted possession of class C drugs Flunitrazepam – known as Rohypnol – and Nitrazepam.
The court heard how he ‘liked to take the masculinity of straight men’ and that his three victims had been left devastated by his crimes.
 |
| Empty drugs packages were found at the rapist’s home when it was raided by police |
The court heard how Wilkinson promoted himself as a male fitness photographer and last summer set up a respectable-looking online enterprise called WilkoPhotography.
He would search for victims on Instagram and invite them to his house so he could help them ‘put together a modelling portfolio’.
Police were investigating him for offences against a 19-year-old man from Kent when officers attended his home in April to arrest him and found a second victim – a 23-year-old from Gloucestershire – asleep on his sofa.
Both men had traces of sedatives in their systems.
During the investigation, police identified a third victim, a 19-year-old from Wiltshire, who was also found to have traces of sedatives in his system.
None of the victims had any memory of the acts committed on them.
During searches of the house, police found photographs of a variety of males, some of whom were naked, on his computer.
Virginia Cornwall, mitigating, admitted Wilkinson had ‘wreckless disregard’ for the men for his own sexual gratification.
 | |
| Wilkinson set up a mock photography studio at his home to trick his victims |
Sentencing, Judge Michael Longman told him: ‘You wanted to have sex with as many attractive men as possible.
‘All the victims were much younger than you and entrusted themselves to you. You abused the trust they placed in you.’
Police are continuing to investigate Wilkinson’s background and want to speak to anyone who may have had contact with him through photography or dating websites.
It is thought that, due to the fact that the men had been drugged and left with no memory of events, there could be many more potential victims.
Police say that they expect the number of victims from ‘right across the UK’ to run into double figures.
 |
| A bar at the home where Wilkinson drugged at least three men with intent to rape them |
Detective Constable Stacey Matthews said: ‘Nigel Wilkinson promoted himself as a male fitness photographer and last summer set up an online enterprise called WilkoPhotography.
‘He’d use social media to identify men he wanted to photograph and would invite them to Bristol for a photo shoot.
‘The men would often stay at his home and throughout their visit he would ply them with alcoholic drinks, some of which were laced with sedatives.
‘While they were in a drugged stage, Wilkinson’s predatory nature would prevail and he’d commit sexual acts on them without their consent.’
