Two co-owners of the non-league football club Maldon & Tiptree have been charged with human trafficking for sexual exploitation as well as rape following an investigation by Essex police.
Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, 57, was charged with multiple offences on Friday alongside Scott Drewitt-Barlow, 32. Both men, of Southwood Chase, Danbury, Essex, will appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court later.
The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that the men had been charged with arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, alongside sexual offences including rape.
Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, who became Britain’s first gay surrogate parent in 1999, faces three counts of sexual assault on a male, four counts of rape of a man aged 16 or over, and two counts of arranging or facilitating travel for exploitation.
Scott Drewitt-Barlow has been charged with one count of sexual assault on a male, one count of rape of a man aged 16 or over, and two counts of arranging or facilitating travel for exploitation.
Essex police stated that officers from the serious crime directorate conducted coordinated searches at premises in Danbury, Maldon, and Braintree on Wednesday, leading to the arrest of the two men. The force has since been liaising with the CPS.
ITV has shelved a planned television show about the men’s venture into football club ownership. A press release on the ITV website, published on 31 March and still available on Friday morning, described the six-part series Up the Jammers as following Barrie and Scott’s ambition to take the Isthmian League North Division team to the heights of the English Football League within four years.
A quote from Barrie Drewitt-Barlow in the press release said: “We didn’t get into football to play it safe, we got into it to build something big, and ITV is the perfect platform to bring that story to life. Nothing has been hidden.”
On Friday, an ITV spokesperson confirmed: “ITV has decided to remove Up the Jammers from the upcoming schedule.”
