Millionaire who married daughter’s ex-boyfriend charged with rape, sexual assault and trafficking
Millionaire football club owner Barrie Drewitt-Barlow has been arrested and charged with rape, sexual assault and trafficking.
The 57-year-old, who became one of Britain's first gay dads when he and his ex-husband Tony welcomed twins in 1999 thanks to a surrogate mother, was thrust into the media limelight again this week when police raided his home.
Drewitt-Barlow also made headlines when he married his daughter's ex-boyfriend Scott Hutchinson, 32, who will also appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court today (8 May) - facing the same charges.
Scott had been dating one of Drewitt-Barlow's daughters, Saffron, when he met her father and they quickly fell in love, with the multi-millionaire suggesting that the relationship with his daughter was fake and simply an opportunity for him to explore his sexuality.
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Barrie has a child with his new husband, after he admitted to shelling out £50,000 to a model to be an egg donor because he didn't want the baby to be ugly.
The multi-millionaire also owns non-league football club Maldon and Tiptree FC, having bought them 14 months ago, and he was due to appear in an ITV documentary regarding his plans to turn the club's fortunes around, but that has reportedly now been scrapped.
The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that Barrie is facing 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.
Meanwhile, Scott is 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.
The maximum sentence for the human trafficking charge is life imprisonment if the offence involves kidnapping or false imprisonment, and 10 years in prison otherwise.
Meanwhile, the sentencing guidelines for rape range from four to 19 years in jail, depending on the severity of the offence. The sentencing guidelines for sexual assault range from a community order to seven years in custody.
An Essex Police statement said today: "Detectives have secured charges against two men in connection with an investigation into human trafficking for sexual exploitation, rape and other sexual offences.
"Officers from the Serious Crime Directorate at Essex Police carried co-ordinated searches at premises in Danbury, Maldon, and Braintree on Wednesday and arrested two men. Since then we have been liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service.
"We can now confirm that 57 year-old Barrie Drewitt-Barlow and 32 year-old Scott Drewitt-Barlow, both of Danbury, have both been charged with multiple offences including rape, sexual assault, and modern slavery trafficking for sexual exploitation.
"They are both due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court today."
Drewitt-Barlow has previously claimed to have been approached by three Premier League players who he claims are secretly gay, but previously stated that he didn't want to become the FA's 'poster boy' for gay men in football.
The stadium of Maldon and Tiptree FC was also searched as part of the investigation, as the BBC reported that the Drewitt-Barlow Stadium was set to be a polling station for yesterday's (7 May) local elections but it wasn't able to serve that function.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Essex Police had said: "Detectives leading an investigation into human trafficking for sexual exploitation, rape and other sexual offences have today, Wednesday, May 6 made two arrests and carried out a series of warrants.
"Officers from the Serious Crime Directorate at Essex Police have today carried out coordinated searches of premises in Danbury, Maldon and Braintree as part of their investigation.
"Searches remain ongoing at all of the locations.
"Two men from Danbury have also been arrested. A 57-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of: rape, human trafficking for sexual exploitation and administering a noxious substance.
"A 32-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of rape, human trafficking for sexual exploitation and administering a noxious substance. Both men remain in custody where they are being questioned by detectives."
James Moorhouse