Four men are standing trial at Winchester Crown Court in the UK, accused of raping or sexually assaulting a woman whose former husband allegedly drugged her, filmed the abuse and advertised her on online platforms without her knowledge or consent. Norman Macksoni, 48, Richard Wilkins, 62, Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32, and Mohammed Hassan, 38, have denied the charges against them. The alleged offences took place between 2016 and 2023, BBC reported.
Police subsequently seized his electronic devices and discovered videos of men allegedly raping or sexually assaulting Joanne. The jury will consider the evidence presented during the trial before reaching its verdicts. The proceedings are expected to last up to four weeks.
The alleged abuse came to light after an online account linked to Philip Young posted images of bestiality in 2023. The four defendants face different charges relating to alleged incidents in 2016, 2017 and 2023. The court also heard that he published more than 500 intimate images and videos of Joanne and recorded her performing private acts without her consent between 2010 and 2024.
The trial began with prosecutor Sarah Jones KC telling the jury that the case centred on whether it could ever be reasonable to engage in sexual activity with an unknown woman without first establishing her consent. Joanne Young has waived her legal right to anonymity. The court heard that Joanne had agreed to being blindfolded and restrained during consensual sexual activity with her husband.
The woman’s former husband, Philip Young, 50, pleaded guilty earlier this year to multiple sexual offences committed against her over more than a decade.
“He presented it as a kink for both of them, but there was no information from Joanne herself to support that,” prosecutor Sarah Jones said. The court heard that since 2015 Young had sought drugs that could put his wife “into a deep sleep where she would be disorientated, unaware of her surroundings and unlikely to be able to recall what happened”. Young watched and filmed the encounters, according to the prosecution. However, prosecutors said there was no evidence that she had consented to sexual encounters with strangers.
