Thank you for subscribing!

Court documents allege that Oakley kissed the victim while on a Catholic pilgrimage to Lourdes

A Catholic bishop accused of raping a teen near a Marian holy site has begged for charges to be dropped.

The Bishop of Northampton, David Oakley, attended the Old Bailey on Friday in a bid to have criminal charges against him thrown out.

The 70-year-old clergyman faces one count of indecent assault and two charges of rape relating to a girl who was 15 at the time of the alleged offences.

The accusations date back to the early 2000s, when Oakley was serving as a Catholic priest in his mid-forties.

After appearing at the Central Criminal Court, the bishop was granted conditional bail.

The charges were brought in June this year after an inquiry conducted by Staffordshire Police's rape and serious sexual offences unit.

Court documents allege that Oakley kissed the victim while on a Catholic pilgrimage to Lourdes, the renowned shrine town in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.

He is further accused of raping her at a presbytery and aboard a canal boat.

At a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court last month, prosecutor Sarah Madden outlined the Crown's case told the court that the defendant and the girl "started dating after going on a pilgrimage to Lourdes".

Ms Madden added: "She recalls sex with the defendant on at least two occasions."

Lourdes draws millions of Catholic pilgrims each year to the site in south-western France where a young local girl reportedly witnessed visions of the Virgin Mary during the 1850s.

The town remains one of the faith's most significant destinations worldwide.

Born in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, Oakley was ordained into the Catholic priesthood in 1980.

He was appointed to lead the Diocese of Northampton four decades later, becoming bishop in 2020.

Police first detained Oakley in September 2025, with the investigation handled by Staffordshire Police's specialist team dealing with rape and serious sexual offences.

Although he still holds the title of bishop, Oakley has stepped back from all public ministry since his initial arrest.

The diocese has not commented publicly on the proceedings at the Old Bailey.