Two Men in Joanne Young Rape Trial Claim They Thought Drugged Encounter Was 'Their Kink'

Two defendants in the trial of four men accused of sexually assaulting Joanne Young, whose husband drugged her for years, told a court they believed the encounters were consensual and part of the couple's swinging lifestyle. The men said they met Young's then-husband through online adverts and a swinging website, and were invited to the couple's home. One accused, a young man who said he was 'trying out things,' claimed he had no idea Young was drugged when he had sex with her while she was restrained and blindfolded. The case has drawn attention because Young has waived her legal right to anonymity to speak publicly about the abuse. The trial continues as prosecutors argue the men took advantage of a woman incapacitated by drugs, while the defendants maintain they were misled by her husband. The outcome could set a precedent for how courts treat consent in cases involving deception and drug-facilitated sexual assault within swinging communities.