Overview
- Essex Police announced new charges on Monday that bring the total against Barrie Drewitt‑Barlow to 15 additional counts and against Scott Drewitt‑Barlow to three, with allegations including sexual activity with a child, paying for a child’s sexual services, multiple counts of rape and further sexual‑assault offences.
- The force says the charges stem from an investigation into human trafficking for sexual exploitation that included coordinated searches at the pair’s Danbury home, the Maldon & Tiptree FC stadium and premises in Braintree.
- Prosecutors allege the defendants targeted, recruited, befriended and groomed vulnerable young men and invited them to their home and other sites, with alleged offending said to span from 2013 to 2026.
- Both men were remanded in custody and Chelmsford Crown Court listed a trial to start on 18 January 2027 with an estimated eight to ten week hearing and a procedural hearing set for September to seek pleas.
- The case has wider fallout: the investigation remains active and Essex Police are urging people with information to use a Major Incident Public Portal or an incident room phone line while the football association has suspended the pair from club activities.