Men accused of sexually assaulting woman drugged by husband describe being invited to couple’s home

Two of four men on trial say they met couple via online ads and swinging website and had no idea wife had been drugged

Men accused of sexually assaulting a woman whose then husband drugged her for years and allowed her to be abused have described being invited to the couple’s home via online adverts and a swinging website.

One of those accused of assaulting Joanne Young, who has waived her legal right to anonymity, as she lay restrained and blindfolded said he was a young man “trying out things” and had no idea she was drugged.

A second said there was a large “cuckold community” of men who watched their wives having sex, claiming his encounter was “just a sex meet” and she seemed “fine”.

Philip Young, 50, has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of drugging and sexually abusing his former wife, 49, at their home in Swindon, Wiltshire, over a number of years. The prosecution has said he advertised his wife online and “loaned” her out to other men.

Four other men are on trial at Winchester crown court, including Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32, of Swindon, who denies sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching in June 2016.

In police interviews read out to the jury, Sanderson-Doyle said he contacted Philip Young via Craigslist after seeing an ad in its adult section for a woman tied and blindfolded. He said he thought he had met a couple “trying to live out whatever their kink is”.

He said he went to the Youngs’ house on his motorcycle. He asked if he should take his shoes off when he arrived, but kept his balaclava on throughout. He saw there were toys in the house so assumed the couple had children.

Sanderson-Doyle, then 21, said he found Joanne Young “tied up and blindfolded” as she had been pictured in the online ad. She did not say anything but seemed awake.

The defendant said that at one point he heard her say “No” but he thought she wanted him to do something different rather than stop completely.

Sanderson-Doyle told police he started to get a “vibe she wasn’t enjoying it or was not comfortable” and left soon afterwards.

He continued: “I thought I had her consent. I didn’t know she was drugged,” adding: “I was just a young guy trying out things.” He called the encounter a “non event”.

A second man, Norman Macksoni, 48, of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, denies one count of rape in February 2017. He told police he worked as an MC and went by the username “dark stranger” on the swingers’ site where he made contact with Philip Young.

He said the site was “about couples living out fantasies” and there was a thriving “cuckold community”. Macksoni told police he had never had sex without consent and Joanne Young was “totally coherent”. He said: “It was just a sex meet and then I left.”

The defendant told officers he did not wear a condom and added: “He specifically said she didn’t like them.”

Also on trial are Richard Wilkins, 62, of Toothill, Wiltshire, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and one of assault by penetration, and Mohammed Hassan, 38, of Swindon, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual touching.