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A former Tory councillor has appeared in court charged with drugging and raping his former wife over a period of 13 years.
Philip Young, 49, and five other men have been accused of more than 60 rapes and sexual offences against Joanne Young, 48. She can be named as the alleged victim because she has waived her right to anonymity, which would otherwise apply in such cases.
Young, who was described by police as white British, appeared at Swindon magistrates court on Tuesday charged with 56 offences, including multiple counts of rape and administering a substance with intent to stupefy his former spouse.
He is also accused of voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme images.
He was remanded into custody and will appear at Swindon crown court on 23 January.
Wearing dark blue jeans and a black jumper, Young spoke to confirm his name and address during the brief hearing. When asked if he wished to indicate a plea at this stage, he shook his head.
The prosecutor Keith Ballinger said Young faced “a number of allegations”, some of which were indictable-only, and invited the case to be sent to the crown court.
Paul Dillon, defending Young, said: “In these circumstances, sir, there’s nothing to add.”
Martin Clarke, the chair of the bench, told the defendant: “Your cases are indictable-only, so they can only be heard in the crown court. So we’re sending all these matters to the crown court.”
Clarke asked Young if he understood, to which the defendant responded: “I do.”
Young, formerly of Swindon, Wiltshire, and now of Enfield, north London, was a Conservative councillor on Swindon borough council from 2007 to 2010.
The five other men charged in the case are due to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon. They are:
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Norman Macksoni, 47, a black British national of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, who has been charged with one count of rape and possession of extreme images.
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Dean Hamilton, 46, of no fixed abode, who is white British, has been charged with one count of rape and sexual assault by penetration and two counts of sexual touching.
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Conner Sanderson Doyle, 31, of Swindon, described as white British, has been charged with sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching.
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Richard Wilkins, 61, of Toothill, Swindon, who is white British, has been charged with one count of rape and sexual touching.
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Mohammed Hassan, 37, of Swindon, described by police as British Asian, has been charged with sexual touching.
Police released the ethnicity of each man charged on Monday.
The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2010 and 2023.
The charges against Young are 11 counts of rape; seven counts of sexual assault by penetration; four counts of sexual touching; 11 counts of administering a substance with the intent of stupefying or overpowering to allow sexual activity; 13 counts of voyeurism specific to videos, as well as voyeurism on at least 200 other occasions; and possession of 230 indecent images of children, including 139 category A images.
He is alleged to have been found with three prohibited images and 82 extreme images, and faces one charge each for four types, namely “rape, animals, death and gore”. He is also accused of breaching section 1 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 on at least 500 occasions.
