Barrie Drewitt-Barlow and Scott Drewitt-Barlow Charged With Rape, Sexual Assault, Trafficking

Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, 57, and Scott Drewitt-Barlow, 32, co-owners of eighth-tier Maldon and Tiptree FC, were charged with multiple sexual offences including “multiple offences including rape, sexual assault, and modern slavery trafficking for sexual exploitation”.

“- Published The owners of a football club have been charged with multiple offences including rape, sexual assault, and modern slavery trafficking for sexual exploitation”

BBC

Essex Police said coordinated searches were carried out in Danbury, Maldon, and Braintree and the two men were arrested on Wednesday, with the Crown Prosecution Service confirming they would appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on Friday.

BBC

The CPS said Barrie Drewitt-Barlow has been charged with three counts of sexual assault on a male, four counts of rape of a man 16 or over and two counts of arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation, while Scott Drewitt-Barlow has been charged with one count of sexual assault on a male, one count of rape of a man 16 or over and two counts of arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation.

Sky News said the pair, from Danbury, Essex, are due to appear in court on Friday, after Essex Police searches by officers from the Serious Crime Directorate at premises in Danbury, Maldon and Braintree on Wednesday and the arrest of two men.

Christian Meikle of the Crown Prosecution Service told the public that “it is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in anyway prejudice these proceedings.”

The Telegraph reported that the couple’s arrest followed raids including a raid on the couple’s mansion in Southwood Chase, Danbury, and searches of the football club and The Swan pub in Braintree, with a Rolls Royce loaded onto a trailer for examination.

Daily Record

ITV removed the planned six-part series about their football ownership, with an ITV spokesperson saying: “ITV has decided to remove Up The Jammers from the upcoming schedule. It will no longer be shown on ITV4 or ITVX as previously advertised.”

The Times also reported that a polling station at the Drewitt-Barlow Stadium was relocated because of “an ongoing police investigation,” with Doug Wilkinson, deputy returning officer for Maldon district council, directing voters to Blackwater leisure centre.

The BBC said forensic officers searched Maldon and Tiptree FC, the couple’s home in Southwood Chase, Danbury and The Swan pub in Braintree, and that a Rolls Royce owned by Barrie Drewitt-Barlow was taken away for examination.

“Millionaire football club owner Barrie Drewitt-Barlow has been arrested and charged with rape, sexual assault and trafficking”

LADbible

The BBC also said the owners were arrested on Wednesday by Essex Police and are both due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Friday, after evidence gathering at the Drewitt-Barlow Stadium, home to non-league side Maldon and Tiptree.

In the lead-up to the court appearance, the BBC noted Barrie Drewitt-Barlow made headlines in 1999 when he and his partner at the time, Tony, became known as Britain’s first gay fathers through a surrogate mother, and that in 2025 he and Scott Drewitt-Barlow finalised a multi-million pound deal to take over Maldon and Tiptree FC.

The New York Times reported that Barrie and Scott Drewitt-Barlow completed their takeover in February 2025, invested heavily into the club, revamping facilities and signing former Premier League and English Football League players including former West Ham United forward Freddie Sears, while the BBC and other outlets tied the immediate disruption to the police investigation and the cancelled ITV schedule.