A man on trial for sexually abusing the wife of a former Tory councillor told police he was “just a young guy trying out new things”, a court has heard.
Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 32, of Swindon, is one of four men facing trial at Winchester Crown Court over the sexual abuse of Joanne Young. Her husband, former Tory councillor Philip Young, has pleaded guilty to drugging and sexually abusing her over a 13-year period at their home in Swindon, Wiltshire.
Arrest and police interview
Sanderson-Doyle, accused of sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching in June 2016, told the court: “I thought I had her consent, I didn’t know she was drugged, I just thought I was doing a **** job.”
Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, said that when Sanderson-Doyle was arrested at his home on May 22 2025, he told officers he did not have sex with Mrs Young and added: “I remember this vividly, Jesus Christ.”
The prosecutor said the defendant told police he had answered an advert on Craigslist, posted by Young, asking for people to have sex with his wife. Sanderson-Doyle said he thought it was “just a married couple trying to live out whatever their kink is, I was just a young guy trying out new things”.
Encounter at the house
He said that when he arrived at the house, Young took him to the bedroom, where he found Mrs Young “tied up and blindfolded” as pictured in the online ad. He added: “I was a bit nervous by it all, I just started getting undressed and maybe I touched her body a bit.”
The defendant said he wore a balaclava from his motorcycle helmet because he did not want to be identified in the video recording Young was making. He told police that as he started to perform a sex act on Mrs Young, he got a “vibe she wasn’t enjoying it or was not comfortable”, so he stopped, got dressed and left.
He said there was “a clear line where I could tell she wasn’t comfortable. That’s why I looked to him (Young) and he said ‘Yeah, I don’t think she’s feeling it’”. He added: “I just thought I was inexperienced and doing **** wrong and making her uncomfortable. I just thought I was young and maybe not reading the room right.”
Sanderson-Doyle said that at one point he heard Mrs Young say “No”, but he thought she wanted him to do something different rather than stop completely. He said he believed she was consenting because “she just seemed relaxed, I couldn’t see her eye or nothing like that, she was moving, she just seemed on the bed, bound, she seemed compos, she didn’t seem distressed at all”.
Asked how consent can be confirmed, he said: “You can outright say it. ‘Do you want to do this? Yes or no’. But then there’s obviously levels of implied consent.” He said that because of his communication with Young, he thought he had the joint consent of both of them, adding: “This was a non-event to me, an encounter that didn’t pan out.”
“It’s upsetting this man has done this and involved me in it. I thought I had her consent, I thought I was joining a marital couple and doing what they wanted. I thought I was doing a bad job.”
Other defendants
The other defendants, charged jointly with Young, are Norman Macksoni, 48, of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, who has denied one count of rape; Richard Wilkins, 62, of Toothill, Swindon, Wiltshire, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and one of assault by penetration; and Mohammed Hassan, 38, of Swindon, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual touching.
The jury was shown bodyworn video footage of Wilkins’ arrest, in which officers ask him to show his tattoos to see if they match those recorded in the video of the incident. Wilkins did not answer questions during police interview, Ms Jones said.
In Macksoni’s police interview, read to court, he said he had contacted Young through the “Fab swingers” site. The defendant, a logistics manager, said: “He said we want to do this, him and his wife, this is one of their fantasies.”
“So they tell me where they are, I get over there, he lets me in, he says, ‘She’s upstairs on the bed ready’.” He said he went upstairs, and Young sat on the bed next to her, saying, “He’s here, he’s ready for you”. Macksoni said: “She’s got her face mask on, she doesn’t want to see who she’s sleeping with. So then we started having sex.”
“I didn’t know he was recording if I’m honest, and he’s talking to her, you know, ‘Are you enjoying it?’ and she’s, her legs move, are wrapped round me and then I finish, I get up and I leave.” He added: “But there was no way that she was drunk or whatever (or) wasn’t coherent.”
Macksoni, who said he MCed at music events, said the sex had been consensual, adding: “It was just a sex meet with a couple and I left. It wouldn’t be sleeping with someone who wasn’t coherent, I wouldn’t do that, that’s not what Fab swingers is about.”
Young, 50, has pleaded guilty to a total of 56 charges. 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 trial continues.
