The lawyer for a man accused of sexually touching a woman whose husband advertised her for sex has told a court that a lack of evidence means it is not possible to prove his client's guilt.
Mohammed Hassan, 38, of Swindon, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual touching of Joanne Young in February 2023, when he responded to an advert placed by her husband, Philip Young, on Grindr. The first charge is an accusation of performing oral sex, and the second is an alternative that he touched her arm to stop her removing restraints.
Woman's account of the incident
The trial at Winchester Crown Court has heard that Mrs Young felt someone touch her hand while someone else was performing a sex act on her. As she managed to remove her blindfold, she saw the second man duck down at the end of the bed at the instruction of her husband.
Tom Godfrey, representing Hassan, said Mrs Young had been unable to say whether it was her husband or the defendant – who the court heard is of good character – who had performed oral sex on her or touched her arm.
Lawyer's plea to the jury
Godfrey told the jury: "The dreadful dilemma faced by Joanne Young is that whilst there were two men in that bedroom on that fateful night of February 2023, she doesn’t know which man was which."
He added: "She doesn’t know which man was performing oral sex upon her and which was by her side and touched her, and that is a horrific position to be in. The assumption that the person engaged in sexual activity with you must be your husband shattered by the unexpected and unknown presence of another man – one can only imagine the horror."
Godfrey urged the jury not to let Young's actions unfairly taint their view of others, saying: "But do not let his (Young's) heinous actions unfairly taint your view of others, do not let your feelings of emotion or sympathy for Mrs Young or your anger against her husband sway you on the evidence. Can you be sure what Mohammed Hassan himself did?"
He continued: "It's not enough for you to be sure that Mohammed Hassan was present in the room before you can convict him of any offence, you must be sure, all of you, of a specific act that he himself committed. Are you sure it was Mohammed Hassan who was performing oral sex or are you sure it was Mohammed Hassan who touched Joanne Young’s arm, or is the reality that you can’t be sure which, if either, of those acts Mohammed Hassan performed, the evidence doesn’t provide the certainty to establish precisely what Mohammed Hassan did."
Other defendants and charges
Three other men are on trial, charged jointly with Young. Norman Macksoni, 48, of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, has denied one count of rape. Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32, of Swindon, denies sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching. Richard Wilkins, 62, of Toothill, Swindon, Wiltshire, has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and one of assault by penetration.
Philip Young, 50, has pleaded guilty to a total of 56 charges, including drugging and sexually abusing his wife over a 13-year period at their home in Swindon. 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. They will be sentenced at the conclusion of the trial.
The jury was sent home to continue its deliberations on Thursday.
