Man made pregnant woman miscarry by secretly giving her abortion drugs

A man has been found guilty of secretly giving abortion-inducing medication to a pregnant woman, causing her to lose her unborn baby.

Stuart Worby, 40, crushed a tablet of the drug mifepristone into a glass of orange juice on the night of 3 August 2022, without the woman's knowledge or consent.

He then inserted a number of tablets of another abortion drug - misoprostol - inside the woman after using deception to engage in sexual activity with her.

Worby, of Malthouse Court in Dereham in Norfolk, admitted buying the lethal medication but had denied administering it to the woman, who was around 15 weeks pregnant at the time.

The victim, who had wanted to keep her baby, was unknowingly given the pills and immediately had to go to the bathroom to be sick and began bleeding.

She attended the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and after enduring hours of pain and blood loss, she suffered a miscarriage and had to have surgery.

The victim then found messages on the suspect’s phone to his friend Wayne Finney to say "It's working" and "There is lots of blood".

It was at that moment the woman realised what she had suffered was not a spontaneous miscarriage but a deceitful and planned termination, said Norfolk Police.

Worby was then arrested.

A jury at Norwich Crown Court heard he sourced the drugs after persuading another woman to obtain them illegally by pretending they were for her at the doctor.

Worby was found guilty of one count of sexual assault and of administering a poison or using an instrument to procure a miscarriage, after a trial lasting more than two weeks.

Worby’s friend Wayne Finney and his girlfriend Nueza Cepeda were also suspected to be involved in the research and purchase of the abortion drugs which were administered by Worby.

Wayne Finney, 41, of Swaffham, had denied intentionally encouraging or assisting in the offence and was found not guilty by the jury.

Cepeda, 39, of Dereham, admitted producing an instrument to be used with the intent to procure a miscarriage and is due to be sentenced at a later date.

Det Ch Insp Duncan Woodhams said: “We pay tribute to the bravery of the victim who has endured the most terrible loss, her courage to come forward and give evidence has been invaluable in ensuring a guilty verdict.

“We also pay tribute to all the medical and health professionals and family, neighbours and friends who have supported the victim. The impact of this event could have life-long repercussions for the victim.

"This has been a complex investigation 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."

Worby is due to be sentenced on 6 December.

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