Husband 'advertised' unsuspecting wife on Craigslist before mother-of-three was drugged and sexually assaulted by 'multiple men', court hears

A former Tory councillor 'advertised' his unsuspecting wife on Craigslist, Grindr and swinging websites before drugging her so she could be sexually assaulted by 'multiple men', a court has heard.

Philip Young, a former cabinet member of Swindon borough council, pleaded guilty to almost 50 sex offences against Joanne Young – who has waived her right to anonymity – at Winchester Crown Court earlier this year.

The trial heard that Ms Young had been repeatedly drugged by her ex-husband so he could carry out a string of assaults over 13 years.

Four other men – Norman Macksoni, 48, Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32, Richard Wilkins, 62, and Mohammed Hassan, 38 – are now standing trial at the same court accused of assaulting Ms Young, 49, on separate occasions between 2016 and 2023.

Jurors at Winchester Crown Court were today told it was not the Crown's case that the defendants had administered the substances to Ms Young.

However, prosecutor Sarah Jones KC said the 'effects' on her 'were apparent' – and said that some of the defendants would likely claim that they believed they had Ms Young's consent via her husband.

She told the jury: 'This case is, in effect, about whether it is ever reasonable to have sex or to begin to have sexual contact with an unknown woman without checking with her first - whether it is ever reasonable to think someone truly can give consent on another’s behalf.

'It will be for you to consider whether the individuals that claim to have worked on such a basis in the current case truly believed they had consent at the time - or, in reality, actually knew they did not and hid behind what they say they were being told, enjoying the opportunity provided to them by Phil Young, or if they simply did not care one way or the other.'

She added: 'I am afraid you are going to have to contend with some depressingly awful and sordid material. You are going to see videos of things you cannot then unsee and may find you can't forget.'

The court heard that Mr Young had 'preferences' in the bedroom in which he liked to blindfold and restrain his wife, and that he had tested her boundaries by asking if she would be open to sleeping with someone else.

Ms Jones KC said: 'He asked if she would ever want to sleep with someone else, she replied very clearly "No" and she said "he made some joke about, um, as long as I could watch you".'

'There was never a conversation about it, there was no way he would ever think it was acceptable at all.'

She added that Mr Young had an idea of his wife sleeping with someone else 'fixed in his brain' and set about finding a way to realise his fantasy without her knowing.

The court heard that police intercepted a packet of sedatives at customs being mailed to Young from India in 2015, but that he denied all knowledge of them when he was visited by officers.

Expert analysis showed his wife was exposed to sedative drugs over a significant period, with evidence she had been exposed to ketamine and zolpidem – known for their sedative and amnesiac properties – over various months in 2023 and 2024. 

Mr Young 'advertised' her on sites such as Craigslist and Grindr, using pictures taken of her without her knowledge.

'He sought strangers to come and sleep with his wife – any age, any race – but as close to Swindon as possible so that when the circumstances were right they could be seized upon immediately,' Ms Jones KC said.

'He presented it as a kink for both of them but there was no information from Joanne herself to support this and the photos he posted of her to advertise his offer showed her inanimate and tied to the bed blindfolded.

'The nightcap they shared it appeared would be used to plunge her into a state where anything could be done to her by whoever answered and she would be unaware or unable to remember.'

She continued: 'It builds a picture of Mr Young searching from 2015 at the very least to trace drugs that could be used on their own, or with alcohol, to send Joanne Young into a deep sleep where she would be disorientated, unaware of her surroundings and unlikely to be able to recall what happened whilst under the influence.

'We don’t know how regularly this was done or to what level but the picture that is building is one of considerable danger to Joanne Young.'

The four defendants stood side by side in the dock at Court Two as the charges were read to the jury.

Macksoni, of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, has denied one count of rape, while Wilkins, of Toothill, Swindon, Wiltshire, has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and one of assault by penetration.

Sanderson-Doyle, of Swindon, has denied sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching, while Mohammed Hassan, also of Swindon, has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual touching.

Young admitted 14 counts of voyeurism, 11 of rape, 11 of administering a substance with intent, seven of assault by penetration, four of sexual assault and one of publishing an obscene article at Winchester Crown Court in January.

He recorded his 49-year-old ex-wife doing private acts for his own sexual gratification without her consent more than 200 times between 2010 and 2024.

He published the 'obscene' material – including the non-consensual intimate photographs and videos of Ms Young – more than 500 times. 

In May this year the 50-year-old, who more recently lived in Enfield, north London, also pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children and one of possessing prohibited images of children in July 2024.

He also admitted four charges of possessing an extreme pornographic image between January 2019 and January 2024. 

Judge Mr Justice Saini told the jury that while Mr Young had pleaded guilty to offences, this did not indicate guilt in the cases of the four defendants on trial.

'The evidence against Mr Young is different in part to the evidence against these offences,' he said.

'For example, as you will hear, Mr Young has pleaded guilty to many offences committed against Joanne Young over many years, which includes admitting that he administered drugs to Mrs Young in order to commit sexual offences against her.

'By contrast, it is not suggested that any of these defendants administer any substance to Mrs Young or were present when it was administered although the prosecution says it effects were apparent.'

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 conclusion of the trial, which is expected to last up to four weeks.

Young served as a Conservative councillor on Swindon Borough Council from 2007 until he stepped down in 2010, citing a desire to spend more time with his family and to focus on his own business.

Since then, he has been the director of several companies and was most recently the chief operating officer at a consultancy firm.

The trial continues.