{
  "id": 18156719,
  "title": "UK man tells rape trial he thought snoring woman was 'roleplaying'",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/uk-man-tells-rape-trial-he-thought-snoring-woman-was-roleplaying-18156719",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-04T16:57:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/world/europe/uk-man-tells-rape-trial-he-thought-snoring-woman-was-roleplaying-1.500736145"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Richard Wilkins, a 62-year-old man accused of raping a woman whose husband invited strangers to have sex with her, testified at a UK court that he heard her snoring during a 2016 encounter but believed it was part of a role-playing scenario. Wilkins, who has pleaded not guilty to rape and assault by penetration, along with three other men, is on trial in Winchester Crown Court for jointly committing sexual offenses against Joanne Young while she was asleep or unconscious. The court heard that Philip Young, the husband, invited men to have sex with his wife while she was drugged and unconscious, claiming it was a kink for the couple. Wilkins stated that he did not suspect she was drugged or unwilling to consent and did not know she was not participating willingly. Another defendant, Connor Sanderson-Doyle, testified that the defendant, Philip Young, was a \"vile monster\" for his actions against his wife. The prosecution argued that the defendants may not have seen Young administer sedatives, but they could see the effects of the drugs, which they wanted to enact their fantasy upon, disregarding Joanne Young's feelings.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}