london
—
A British man pleaded guilty in a British court on Friday to drugging and raping his ex-wife over a 13-year period.
Philip Young admitted 48 of the 56 charges against him, pleading guilty to 14 counts of voyeurism, 11 counts of rape and 11 counts of drugging his then-wife with “intent to cause her to become stupefied”, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
He also admitted seven counts of sexual assault, four counts of sexual assault of a former spouse and one count of publishing obscene material, prosecutors said.
Young is also charged with voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children and possession of graphic images. He denied three charges of making indecent images of children, pleaded not guilty to possessing prohibited images of children and four charges of possessing extreme pornographic images, including those defined as images depicting life-threatening acts.
The alleged crimes took place between 2010 and 2023.
The 49-year-old former local councilor of the British Conservative Party entered the plea on Friday in front of his ex-spouse Joanne Young at Winchester Crown Court in southern England.
Joanne Young, who waived her automatic legal right to anonymity, was supported by her sister and members of witness support in court.
Senior investigating officer Superintendent Geoff Smith praised Joanne Young’s bravery on Friday, saying: “I would like to pay tribute to her incredible courage throughout this process. She continues to be supported by specially trained officers.”
Five other men were charged with sex offenses against Joanne Young, four of whom appeared in court on Friday.
Norman McSoni, 47, was charged with rape and possession of explicit images, and has pleaded not guilty to rape. Conor Sanderson Doyle, 31, has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault by sexual penetration and sexual contact. Richard Wilkins, 61, is charged with one count of rape and one count of sexual contact, and has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual contact. Mohamed Hassan, 37, was charged with sexual contact and has pleaded not guilty.
Dean Hamilton, also 47, is charged with one count of rape and sexual assault and two counts of sexual contact. He has not entered a plea.
Incidents of marital rape, the use of substances to incapacitate victims, and the sharing of intimate images without consent continue to soar across Europe.
Last month, a 61-year-old German man named Fernando P. was found guilty of drugging and raping his unconscious wife over a period of years and sharing videos of the crime online.
They are comparing it to the case of Dominique Pericot in France. For nearly 10 years, he gathered dozens of strangers in chat rooms and raped and abused his then-wife, Gisele.
In December 2024, he and all 49 other men were found guilty of rape or sexual assault in a case that shocked the world and sparked a cultural reckoning of gender-based violence and misogyny in France.
CNN’s Lauren Said Moorhouse, Saskia Vandoorne and Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting.
