Four men are on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of a range of sexual offences against Joanne Young. The defendants include taxi driver Richard Wilkins, 62, singer and businessman Norman Macksoni, 48, Amazon worker Mohammed Hassan, 38, and Ministry of Defence worker Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32.
Ms Young, 49, waived her right to anonymity in December, when details of more than 60 alleged offences against her were made public. The court heard that the alleged assaults occurred at her home in Swindon between 2016 and 2023.
While the four men deny the charges, a fifth man, Dean Hamilton, 47, has admitted to offences against Ms Young. Ms Young's ex-husband, sales consultant and former Conservative councillor Philip Young, 50, has also pleaded guilty to 56 charges.
An investigation into Philip Young began in 2023 after police were alerted to him uploading extreme pornographic images online. Searches of his devices revealed nearly 500 images of Ms Young in a state of undress. The jury was informed that Philip Young's guilty pleas do not indicate guilt for the four defendants currently on trial.
Prosecutor Sarah Jones KC told the court that the four accused men, who deny charges ranging from sexual touching to rape, were recruited online by Philip Young. Ms Jones stated that Ms Young had been "shackled and blindfolded" and abused by men "plucked from the internet" while her husband watched or filmed.
Philip Young allegedly sought strangers online to have sex with his wife, presenting it as a shared fantasy, though Ms Young's legal team indicated she had no knowledge of or agreement to this. Advertisements allegedly posted by Young on platforms including Craigslist described his wife as being "inanimate and tied to the bed blindfolded" and that the intention was to "quietly use her body."
Ms Young, described in court as "emphatically monogamous" and "vanilla," stated she had complied with her husband's preferences for blindfolding and restraint but had never agreed to sleep with anyone else. The court heard that Philip Young began drugging his wife, using a "nightcap" intended to render her unaware or unable to remember what happened.
Philip Young has admitted to 48 offences against his ex-wife, including voyeurism, rape, administering a substance with intent, assault by penetration, and sexual assault. He also pleaded guilty to charges related to indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornographic images. Dean Hamilton has admitted to one charge of assault by penetration, two of sexual assault, and one of rape. Philip Young and Hamilton are scheduled to be sentenced after the current trial concludes. The trial of the other four defendants is ongoing.