Man thought he had drugged wife's consent, court told

One of four men on trial for sexually abusing a woman who had been drugged by her husband thought he had her consent and stopped when she became uncomfortable, a court has heard.

Philip Young, a former Tory councillor for Swindon, has admitted to drugging and raping his now ex-wife Joanne over a 13-year period.

Four men who Young is alleged to have recruited to abuse his wife at their home are now on trial at Winchester Crown Court.

The jury heard that Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32, told police he thought he was helping a married couple to "live out their kink" but left after getting the "vibe [Joanne] wasn't enjoying it".

Warning: This story contains distressing details

The jury was told that Wiltshire Police's investigation into Young was sparked when he put extreme pornographic images online.

Officers went to speak to Young on 4 July 2023 about three extreme image of bestiality they had been alerted to.

Police then found "intimate" videos on his devices of Joanne restrained and blindfolded while other men engaged in sexual activity with her, the court was told.

Joanne - who has waived her legal right to anonymity - told police this was being done without her consent or knowledge, the jury heard.

Sanderson-Doyle, Norman Macksoni, 48, Richard Wilkins, 62, and Mohammed Hassan, 38, are on trial accused of sexual offences against Joanne - which they deny.

The court was cleared earlier so only the jury, defendants, barristers and Joanne could watch videos of alleged sexual abuse by three of the defendants.

Sanderson-Doyle, of Swindon, who denies sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching in 2016, told police he answered Young's advert on Craigslist, which said something like "you'll come in, have sex with her and leave".

In the transcript of his police interview read to the jury, the defendant said he thought it was "just a married couple trying to live out whatever their kink is," and he was "just a young guy trying out new things".

Sanderson-Doyle said when he arrived at the house, Young took him to their bedroom where he found Joanne "tied up and blindfolded" as she had been pictured in the online ad.

The defendant said he started to perform a sex act on Joanne but there was "a clear line where I could tell she wasn't comfortable", which prompted Young to say "I don't think she's feeling it".

"I thought I had her consent, I didn't know she was drugged," he told police.

Sanderson-Doyle said that he had believed Joanne was consenting because she seemed "relaxed", was moving and "didn't seem distressed at all".

When asked by the detective if he had done his due diligence to get her consent, he said: "Yeah I think so, from the conversations I had with him and what I walked into, I thought I had consent from them."

In the police interview with Norman Macksoni, of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, who denies one count of rape in 2017, he said Young contacted him on a website called Fab Swingers.

In the transcript read out in court, he said he thought he was taking part in a couple's "fantasy".

The defendant said when he entered the bedroom, Young sat next to Joanne on the bed and had a conversation with her.

Macksoni told police he had sex with Joanne, then got up and left, without interacting with her.

"But there was no way that she was drunk or wasn't coherent," he said in his interview.

"I wouldn't be sleeping with someone who wasn't coherent, I wouldn't do that, that's not what Fab Swingers is about."

He said he had arranged to have sex with couples before and "it's normally the husband that does the talking".

The jury also watched video footage of the arrest of Richard Wilkins, of Toothill, Swindon, who denies one count of rape and one of assault by penetration in 2016.

The fourth defendant is Mohammed Hassan, of Swindon, who denies one count of sexual touching in 2023.

Young, a former Conservative Swindon councillor, previously admitted to 48 offences against his ex-wife, including voyeurism, rape, administering a substance with intent, assault by penetration and sexual assault.

He has also pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children, one of possessing prohibited images of children, and four of possessing an extreme pornographic image.

A sixth defendant, Dean Hamilton, 47, of Street, Somerset, has admitted one charge of assault by penetration, two of sexual assault and one of rape.

Young and Hamilton will be sentenced at the end of the trial, which is expected to last up to four weeks.

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