A British man was charged with repeatedly drugging and raping a woman who is now his ex-wife over the course of 13 years, officials said Monday. Five other men were also charged with sexual offenses against the same woman.
Philip Young, formerly of Swindon but now living in Enfield, was charged with 56 sexual offences, including multiple counts of rape and administering a substance with the intent to “stupefy” Joanne Young, 48, between 2010 and 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service and Wiltshire Police said in a joint statement.
While British law automatically protects the identity of the victims of sexual crimes, Joanne Young has voluntarily waived this right.
“She has asked to be named in this press release and is being supported by specially trained officers and partner agencies,” the agencies said in their statement.
Phillip Young, who remains in custody, was also charged with voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme images, CBS News’ partner network BBC News reported.
It was not immediately made clear when the Youngs divorced.
The five other men charged with sexual offenses against Joanne Young have been released on bail, police said.
All six men are set to appear at Swindon Magistrates’ Court in southwest England on Tuesday. It wasn’t immediately clear if they had legal representation.
Last year in France, Gisèle Pelicot‘s ex-husband and dozens of other men were convicted of sexually assaulting her between 2011 and 2020. In a landmark verdict that drew international attention, Dominique Pelicot — who admitted to drugging and raping Gisèle repeatedly over the course of almost a decade and inviting dozens of other men to assault her as well — was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while sentences for most of the other defendants ranged from three to 15 years imprisonment.
