A man accused of raping a woman whose husband had posted "f*** my wife" advertisements online has told a court he heard her snoring but believed it to be part of a "role-playing" scenario.
Richard Wilkins, 62, of Toothill, Swindon, Wiltshire, has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and one of assault by penetration in July 2016. He was responding to a Craigslist sex advert placed by Philip Young, who has already pleaded guilty to multiple charges of drugging and sexually abusing his wife, Joanne Young, over a 13-year period at their home in Swindon.
Court hears of Craigslist adverts
Jurors were previously told Philip Young had posted 20 adverts on Craigslist inviting men to engage in sexual activity with his wife. One advert read: "When my wife gets p*****, she gets randy and we have started running through some fantasies and one of the fantasies is having her tied to the bed."
The headings of the advertisements included "F*** my tied and blindfolded wife" and "F*** my wife." Young had also posted on additional platforms including Grindr and Fab swingers using the username London Monkey, the court was told.
Defendant's account of the encounter
Wilkins, a former taxi driver, told the court he had responded to an advert posted by Young on Craigslist. As he approached the bed where Mrs Young lay shackled and blindfolded, he claimed to have heard a "snoring noise", which he believed formed part of the encounter as advertised by Young.
He told the court: "I considered this was still part of the role-playing scenario that I was acting out." Attempting to justify his belief that she was conscious, he stated: "If you are asleep and someone climbs on your bed, it's going to wake you up and make you move or something."
He further claimed that as he began having sex with Mrs Young, she ceased snoring and began making sounds of "moaning or groaning of enjoyment" while wrapping her legs around him.
Other defendants and next steps
Wilkins told the court he had no reason to believe she had been drugged or intoxicated, as there was no "drug paraphernalia" present in the room and neither Young nor Mrs Young appeared to smell of alcohol. He insisted he was unaware she wasn't consenting, stating: "I didn't and if I did or had any inkling of it I would have contacted police myself. I believed she was consenting."
Wilkins explained that at the time he had been seeking companionship after going through a "rough divorce" and said: "I am trying to get back some confidence and get on with my life."
Three other defendants are standing trial alongside Wilkins. Norman Macksoni, 48, from Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, has denied one count of rape, while Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32, from Swindon, has denied sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching. Mohammed Hassan, 38, also from Swindon, has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual touching of Mrs Young.
Young, 50, has admitted to a total of 56 charges, while a sixth defendant, Dean Hamilton, 47, from 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 trial continues.
