Bishop David Oakley of Northampton was in court yesterday facing allegations that he raped a 15-year-old girl twice in the early 2000s.
Oakley, who was in his 40s and a priest for the diocese of Birmingham at the time of the allegations, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday via videolink to face the charges from his lawyer’s office. He was released on bail, on condition that he doesn’t contact the alleged victim or her family.
Prosecutor Sarah Madden said Oakley and the girl “started dating… after going on a pilgrimage to Lourdes.”
“She recalls sex with the defendant on at least two occasions,” Madden added. The incidents are alleged to have occurred between 2000 and 2001, when Oakley was in his mid-40s and a priest of the Birmingham archdiocese.
Oakley was not asked to enter a plea as the case has been sent to the Old Bailey by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring. There will be a plea hearing on Sept. 10.
Oakley was charged in June on 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.
Oakley stepped down from public ministry for unspecified “personal reasons” last October, though it recently emerged that police had arrested the prelate for rape of an underage girl in September of last year.
It was announced in June that Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster will take control of Northampton diocese on a temporary basis.
Following the announcement from Staffordshire police that Oakley had been charged, Northampton diocese released a statement.
“The Diocese of Northampton can confirm that Bishop David Oakley has been charged after an investigation into non-recent safeguarding allegations,” the Northampton statement said.
“We understand that this will be very distressing for all concerned,” the statement also said, adding that the diocese “cannot comment further on an active legal process.”
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales also put out a statement following Staffordshire’s announcement.
“We are profoundly aware that the report of this allegation may reawaken painful memories for many people and again offer an unreserved apology to those who have been hurt by abuse in the Catholic Church in England and Wales,” the conference’s statement said.
“In this moment we would like to provide pastoral reassurance on the commitment of the Church to safeguarding,” the statement said.
Questions for the hierarchy
The management of the case by the Catholic Church in England and Wales has raised serious questions regarding Church leaders’ adherence to safeguarding procedure and their commitment to transparent governance.
In addition to Church officials’ failure to disclose Oakley’s arrest, Crux Now has also discovered that Oakley quietly stepped back as director of the St Luke’s Centre, which provides candidate assessments for potential clerics and religious, also in October.
Crux Now reached out to Northampton diocese, Westminster archdiocese, and CBCEW for further information. All three pointed Crux Now to already available public information.
Queries from Crux Now to the Vatican press office, including when the Holy See learned of the allegations against Oakley, when the Holy See first learned of his arrest, and whether the Holy See plans to investigate the case independently, also went unanswered.
