Ex-England rugby league star Gareth Hock charged with rape, assault and coercive control
Former Great Britain and England rugby player Gareth Hock has been charged with rape.
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that Hock, 39, has been remanded in custody and will appear in court at a later date.
A police statement read: ‘Gareth Hock of Wigan has been charged with a number of offenses including rape, assault and controlling or coercive behaviour.
“He has been taken into custody and will appear in court later.
The charges of assault and controlling and coercive behavior were brought against the former international earlier this month.
The other charges were based on events that occurred between January 1, 2009 and November 11, 2022.
Hock was arrested on February 14 and appeared for a hearing at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court.
He is due to appear at Manchester Crown Court on an unspecified date for a preliminary hearing.
GMP Wigan West posted on Facebook yesterday: ‘A Wigan man has been charged with multiple offenses and remanded in custody.
They listed two counts of rape, five counts of assault causing actual bodily harm, controlling or coercive behavior, assault by blows, acts and acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice, ne not stopping, not reporting an accident.
It is alleged that Hock, born Gareth Charnock, crashed an Audi A6 in Orrell in November 2022 and drove off without stopping.
Hock previously represented Great Britain (2006) and England (2008-12) in international rugby, appearing in the 2008 World Cup squad.
He played 191 games for Wigan Warriors between 2003 and 2013, scoring 48 tries.
He retired in 2019 after 16 years of professional rugby.
