NORTHAMPTON (UNITED KINGDOM)
Daily Mirror [London, England]
September 10, 2026
By Eliana Nunes
David Oakley, the Bishop of Northampton, is accused of raping a teenage girl in a presbytery and on a canal boat while working as a Catholic priest in the early 2000s
The Bishop of Northampton is seeking to have a court case in which he is accused of raping a teenage girl dismissed.
David Oakley, 70, is charged with indecent assault and two counts of rape in relation to the girl, who was aged 15 at the time. The alleged incidents of rape took place in February 2000 and February 2001, when he was in his mid-40s and working as a Catholic priest.
The defendant allegedly kissed the girl during a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, and then raped her in a presbytery and on a canal boat in Staffordshire, according to court documents.
Appearing at the Old Bailey in London on Thursday, Oakley, who is on conditional bail, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.
He was expected to enter pleas, but the court was told that an application to dismiss the charges will instead be heard on January 4.
By Eliana Nunes News Reporter