Children's pastor, 35, 'raped two teenage girls after grooming them on Facebook but the Church of England wanted to look after him'

By Emma Glanfield
Daily Mail
January 19, 2016

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Children's pastor Timothy Storey, 35, from south east London, is accused of raping two vulnerable teenage girls after grooming them on Facebook

Timothy Storey, 35, allegedly led a 'double life' expounding Christian values of abstinence at St Michael's Church in Victoria, central London (pictured above), while targeting young girls from the congregation

Storey, 35, of Peckham, southeast London, denies three counts of rape and one of sexual assault

A children's pastor raped two vulnerable teenage girls after grooming them on Facebook, a court heard today.

Timothy Storey, 35, allegedly led a 'double life' expounding Christian values of abstinence at St Michael's Church in Victoria, central London, while targeting young girls from the congregation.

Storey began his 'incremental, insidious' grooming by sending the girls flattering messages on Facebook, jurors at Woolwich Crown Court heard.

He allegedly sent explicit sexual content including photographs of his penis and his manipulation of the women was so powerful one of them described him as 'more influential than God', jurors were told.

Storey is said to have bullied girls when they didn't submit to his demands, telling one she 'wasn't worth wasting a condom on'.

Both alleged victims heard that Storey had been sending other girls sexual messages while he worked as a youth leader, but felt unable to reveal the full extent of his abuse, it is said.

They only contacted the police when they read a Daily Mail article about Storey's convictions for other sexual offences against children under 16, jurors heard.

It detailed how the former Oxford theology student was convicted of seven counts of inciting children to engage in sexual activity and two counts of making indecent images of a child in May 2014.

The women, who cannot be named, had already reported Storey to the Church of England, but nothing seemed to be done, the court heard.

When the first alleged victim - now 25 - told Reverend Jeremy Crossley about the abuse, she said he didn't appear to be taking notes, and said that they had to think about Storey's 'welfare and needs', it is claimed.

Rev Crossley told her that Storey was staying at his house and that they 'had to look after him', the court was told.

The second alleged victim, now 24, was sent a letter of apology from Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, and told her complaint was being dealt with by a Church of England safeguarding officer.

Storey was removed from his training post but 'little else was done', jurors were told.

Prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters said Storey's behaviour illustrated his 'entrenched manipulation of young females to engage in sexual activity for his own gratification'.

'The defendant befriended the girls,' said Miss Llewellyn-Waters.

'After gaining their confidence and trust, he made contact with them and groomed them to form inappropriate relationships with him before manipulating them into sexual activity.'

Jurors heard Storey met the first victim at St Michael's Church in Victoria in 2002 when she was 13 years old, and 'manipulated her to feel affection for him'.

Miss Llewellyn-Waters said: 'She details her confusion as he taught her at church where she was told there was to be no sexual relations before marriage.

'She felt that the defendant lived a double life: the secret, inappropriate behaviour as opposed to the morally upright, virtuous Church youth leader.'

The first alleged victim claims Storey began sending her sexual messages when she was 16 and later made her pleasure him at a youth room in the church.

He then forced himself on her when she was 17 as she took shelter from heavy rain at his parents' house, the court heard.

'She was soaked to the skin,' said Miss Llewellyn-Waters. 'She could see the defendant's facial expression had changed and he appeared to be aroused.'

She added: 'She felt she had no choice but to submit.'

Storey then told her to leave, saying he was going to order a Chinese takeaway and watch a film, it is said.

He later tried to initiate a threesome with the girl and her 14-year-old sister, pleasuring himself as he forced her to describe the lewd scene, it is claimed.

Storey's second alleged victim first met him as a child as she attended a summer camp.

He first contacted her on Facebook when she was 16, saying she looked 'beautiful'.

She is said to have been raped twice aged 16 after he secretly took her to a concert in Birmingham, where he plied here with up to 15 shots of alcohol in June 2008.

After the gig, he forced himself on the girl at his student accommodation in Oxford, where he was studying to become a vicar, the court heard.

'She describes it as the most awful experience,' said Miss Lewellyn-Waters.

'She heard a knock at the door and prayed for matters to stop.

'However, when the defendant opened the door, there was no one there.

'She cried during the night. She did not know how to get to the station and felt helpless.'

Storey, of Peckham, southeast London, denies three counts of rape and one of sexual assault.

He is accused of raping and sexually assaulting the first woman and raping the second woman twice.

Storey gave a prepared statement in July 2014 saying he had only engaged in consensual sexual activity with the women.

The trial continues.