The Bishop of Northampton has appeared before a court facing allegations that he raped a teenage girl following a pilgrimage to Lourdes. David Oakley, 70, from Stourbridge, stands accused of having sex twice with the girl, who was just 15 years old at the time, in the early 2000s.
Oakley, who was then in his mid-40s and serving as a Catholic priest, was charged in June with two counts of rape of a girl under the age of 16, following an investigation by Staffordshire Police's Rape and Serious Sexual Offences team.
Court appearance and allegations
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday via videolink from his solicitor's office to face the charges for the first time. Prosecutor Sarah Madden informed the court that Oakley and the girl "started dating... after going on a pilgrimage to Lourdes". "She recalls sex with the defendant on at least two occasions," Ms Madden said.
Lourdes, situated in south west France, draws vast numbers of pilgrims annually to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Oakley, a Stourbridge native from the West Midlands who was ordained as a priest in 1980, was appointed Bishop of Northampton in 2020.
Case referred to the Old Bailey
He has been withdrawn from public ministry since his initial arrest by police in September 2025. During the hearing, he was not required to enter pleas to the two charges as Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring referred the case to the Old Bailey. "Given the profile of the case and the former employment of the defendant, this ought to go to the Central Criminal Court," the judge stated.
Oakley was released on bail by the judge, with stipulations barring him from contacting the alleged victim or her relatives, ahead of a plea hearing scheduled for 10 September.
Diocese response
Following the news breaking of the criminal charges, the Catholic Diocese of Northampton confirmed that Oakley had been charged following an inquiry into "non-recent safeguarding allegations". It further stated: "We understand that this will be very distressing for all concerned but cannot comment further on an active legal process."
