Accused tells court he thought man's wife had consented to sex

A man has told a court he believed a woman who was repeatedly raped by her "vile monster" husband had consented when he answered an ad to have sex with the couple.

Norman Macksoni, 48, Richard Wilkins, 62, Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32, and Mohammed Hassan, 38, are on trial at Winchester Crown Court after denying sexual offences against Joanne Young, who has waived her right to anonymity.

Ex-Tory councillor Philip Young, 50, has admitted charges of drugging and raping his now ex-wife over 13 years at their home in Swindon, Wiltshire.

Describing his reaction after his arrest, Sanderson-Doyle told the court: "I didn't think someone could do something like that to their wife. It's just vile, vile."

Warning: This story contains distressing details

The court heard that Sanderson-Doyle, from Swindon, was 21 at the time, working at a supermarket and living with his parents, when he first answered an advert placed on Craigslist by Philip Young in September 2015.

The defendant told the court he believed the advert had been placed by a couple, not just the husband and he thought Joanne was in agreement.

Sanderson-Doyle said he found the experience, which happened after he turned 22, uncomfortable and said: "It wasn't something I had tried before, I was out of my comfort zone, it's a new experience, a bit of a scary experience."

Sanderson-Doyle said he believed he had "feedback" from Joanne and there was "a level of compos mentis to her" as she was "moving around".

He also said the encounter was "weird but not nefarious".

"At no point did I have any indication she was drugged, intoxicated, doing anything against her will and if I had done I wouldn't have done those acts," he added.

Sanderson-Doyle said such cases were a "big wake-up call to my gender that we haven't been doing enough to gain consent".

He told the court: "I am not stupid and I am not a monster, in hindsight I should have done more.

"I am sorry for not doing enough, I wish I did," he added.

The court was told Young had placed 20 adverts on Craigslist inviting men to have sex with his wife. He also posted on other sites, including Grindr and Fab Swingers.

One advert said the idea was to "quietly use her body" and that "even a voice would be a giveaway" to the person's identity, the jury heard.

The court also heard that in a message to Hassan, Young said: "I had a vasectomy a while ago so she is completely unprotected. The thought of a slight risk is a great thrill for us.

"If anything did happen we know nothing about you so there would be no comeback."

The trial previously heard that Joanne locked herself in a bathroom after realising Young had allowed someone else in the bedroom while she was blindfolded to sexually assault her.

She told police she was restrained when she felt a hand on her wrist, which she believed did not belong to her then-husband.

Edward Culver, prosecuting, told the court analysis of Young's devices uncovered 300 emails between him and other people between 2015 and 2019.

Nearly 500 images were also found of Joanne "in a state of undress", with the majority "not with knowledge or consent".

The court previously heard these images had been discovered after police were alerted to the fact Young had uploaded extreme pornographic images to the internet in 2023.

Wiltshire Police seized his devices and launched an investigation that uncovered the abuse of his then wife.

Young has admitted 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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