There was no application for bail.
Young, a father of three, was also charged with possessing 230 indecent images of children. Of these, 139 were category A, deemed the worst. He is alleged to have been found with three prohibited images and 82 extreme images, and faces one charge over each for four types, namely “rape, animals, death and gore”.
A court sketch of Philip Young, right, at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. He is charged with 56 offences including multiple counts of rape and administering a substance with intent to stupefy his former spouse, Joanne Young.Credit: Illustration: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire
A court sketch of, left to right, Norman Macksoni, Conner Sanderson Doyle, Richard Wilkins, Mohammed Hassan and Dean Hamilton.Credit: Illustration: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire
The former local politician, formerly from the upmarket Ash Brake area of Swindon, who now lives in Enfield, north London, was also charged with breaching Section 1 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 on at least 500 occasions. He also faces 13 charges of voyeurism specific to videos and voyeurism “on at least 200 other occasions”.
Young’s co-accused – all British men – appeared before the same court a few hours later.
Norman Macksoni, 47, of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, was charged with one count of rape and possession of extreme images. Macksoni, who wore a dark grey suit with black shirt and tie, indicated he would plead not guilty.
Norman Macksoni arriving at court. He has been charged with rape and possession of extreme images.Credit: AP
Dean Hamilton, 47, of Compton Dundon, Somerset, faces one charge of rape and sexual assault by penetration, and two of sexual touching. Hamilton, who had grey shaven hair and wore a white sweatshirt and light grey combat trousers, also indicated he would plead not guilty.
Connor Sanderson Doyle, 31, of Crofton Road, Swindon, is charged with sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching. Doyle, wearing a white jumper and his hair in a long black ponytail, did not indicate a plea.
Richard Wilkins, 61, of Toothill, Swindon, is accused of one count of rape and sexual touching. Wilkins, who was shaven headed and wore a waterproof hooded coat, did not indicate a plea.
Mohammed Hassan, 37, of Torun Way, Swindon, is charged with sexual touching. Hassan, who wore a black hooded jacket, gave no indication of a plea.
Dean Hamilton faces one charge of rape and sexual assault by penetration, and two of sexual touching.Credit: AP
All five men were bailed to attend Swindon Crown Court on January 23, on condition they surrendered their passports and did not go near Joanne Young’s home address or attempt to contact her in any way. Clarke warned the men to make no contact, direct or indirect, with her, either via letter at her home address, on social media or in person.
“It’s for your benefit. If you’re caught there you are back inside,” he told them. “You get it wrong and you’re back here and you’ll face an entirely different situation.”
All five men nodded their heads when asked if they understood the bail conditions.
James Foster, a CPS specialist prosecutor, said: “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to charge and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.
Conner Sanderson Doyle is charged with sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching.Credit: AP
“We have worked closely with Wiltshire Police as they carried out their investigation.”
Wiltshire Police Detective Superintendent Geoff Smith described it as a “complex and extensive investigation”. He added: “The victim in this case, Joanne, has taken the decision to waive her automatic legal right to anonymity.
“She has been supported by specially trained officers from the beginning of the process and she has made the decision following multiple discussions with officers and support services.”
Young was the cabinet member for regeneration at Swindon borough council between January 2007 and May 2010, and oversaw the £800m ($1.6 billion) redevelopment of the town’s centre.
Richard Wilkins is accused of rape and sexual touching.Credit: AP
In 2010, he said he was stepping down to spend more time with family.
Six months earlier, Young described how he helped deliver his and his then-wife’s third child at home, minutes before paramedics could arrive.
He told the Swindon Advertiser: “We didn’t have time to ring an ambulance beforehand. It didn’t cross my mind. It was happening and that was it.
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“It was almost common sense really. It was almost trying to be quite matter of fact and give Jo confidence. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.
“The main thing was communication, to talk her through what was happening and her to tell me what she was feeling.”
His ex-wife said at the time: “I can’t complain, he caught the baby so that’s good.”
More recently, Young was chief operating officer at the Salesforce consultancy Pracedo.
He joined the business in June 2023 with “17 years experience in the ecosystem running his own partner consultancy”, according to a now removed biography on the company website.
It added: “In his past, Phil has run many global rollouts with blue-chip international organisations with a focus on increasing ROI (return on investment) through high adoption at launch.”
Young previously worked on projects for household names including Aston Martin, Unilever and BP. His most recent posts on LinkedIn show him holding a trophy at an industry awards ceremony.
He graduated with a business studies degree from the University of Westminster in 1998 and previously went to school in Bishop’s Stortford.
