Catholic Bishop Accused of Raping a 15-Year-Old Girl He 'Started Dating' After Shrine Pilgrimage

The Bishop of Northampton, David Oakley, appeared at the Old Bailey on Thursday, 10 September, as his lawyers sought to have criminal charges against him dismissed. Oakley, 70, faces one count of indecent assault and two counts of rape involving a girl who was 15 at the time of the alleged offences in the early 2000s.

Oakley had been expected to enter pleas at the Central Criminal Court, but the charges were not put to him. Instead, the court was told that his defence had made an application to dismiss the case. Judge Trowler provisionally scheduled a hearing on that application for 4 January 2027.

David Oakley Charges Follow Staffordshire Police Investigation

The case follows an investigation by Staffordshire Police's rape and serious sexual offences team. Oakley was arrested in September 2025 after an allegation was reported to officers and was charged in June 2026.

At an earlier hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, prosecutor Sarah Madden outlined the prosecution's account. She told the court that Oakley and the girl 'started dating' after going on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in south-western France.

Madden also told the court, 'She recalls sex with the defendant on at least two occasions.'

According to court documents, Oakley, who was then in his mid-40s and serving as a Catholic priest, is alleged to have kissed the girl during the Lourdes pilgrimage. The prosecution further alleges that he raped her in a presbytery and on a canal boat.

The alleged rape offences are reported to have taken place in Staffordshire between February 2000 and February 2001. The allegations concerning the pilgrimage are separate from the alleged locations of the rape offences.

The claims remain allegations and have not been determined by a court. Oakley has not entered pleas to the charges.

David Oakley Defence Seeks Dismissal of Charges

At the Old Bailey hearing, defence barrister Michelle Heeley KC told the court that Oakley's legal team was seeking to have the case dismissed before trial. Oakley remains on conditional bail, while a hearing on the dismissal application is provisionally scheduled for 4 January 2027.

Lourdes, in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, is one of the Catholic Church's best-known pilgrimage destinations and attracts millions of visitors each year.

The pilgrimage is relevant to the prosecution's case because of the alleged kiss and because Madden told Westminster Magistrates' Court that the alleged relationship began after the journey. The rape allegations themselves are not alleged to have occurred at Lourdes.

David Oakley Retains Bishop Title as Diocese Remains Under Temporary Administration

Oakley was born in Stourbridge in the West Midlands and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1980. Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Northampton in 2020.

He retains the title of Bishop of Northampton but is withdrawn from public ministry. Pope Leo XIV appointed Archbishop Richard Moth as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Northampton on 30 June 2026, temporarily entrusting the governance of the diocese to him. Moth also serves as Archbishop of Westminster.

The Diocese of Northampton said in June that Oakley had been charged following an investigation into what it described as 'non-recent safeguarding allegations.' It said the development would be 'very distressing for all concerned' and added that it could not comment further while the legal process remained active.

The criminal proceedings remain ongoing, and the allegations against Oakley have not been proved. The next stage is the provisionally scheduled hearing on his defence application to dismiss the charges on 4 January 2027.