David Oakley, the Bishop of Northampton, appeared in court via videolink from his lawyer's office to face charges of rape against a minor. The 70-year-old bishop is accused of two counts of rape against a female under the age of 16.
Oakley was charged in June following an investigation by Staffordshire Police. Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring sent the case to the Old Bailey after the hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where Oakley did not enter a plea. He was released on bail with conditions prohibiting contact with the alleged victim or her family. A plea hearing is scheduled for September 10.
The alleged incidents are said to have occurred in Staffordshire between February 2000 and February 2001, a period when Oakley was in his mid-40s and working as a Catholic priest. Born in the West Midlands, Oakley was ordained as a priest in 1980 and became Bishop of Northampton in 2020.
While Oakley retains his title, he has withdrawn from public ministry. The Catholic Diocese of Northampton, which serves Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire, has acknowledged the case is "very distressing for all concerned."