Bishop of Northampton seeking to dismiss charges he kissed girl, 15, at Lourdes and raped her

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 13:46 EDT, 10 September 2026 | Updated: 14:04 EDT, 10 September 2026 A 70-year-old bishop is seeking to dismiss a court case alleging he kissed and raped a girl aged 15. The Bishop of Northampton, David Oakley, appeared in court charged with indecent assault and two counts of rape against the then teenage girl in the early 2000s.Oakley was in his mid-40s and working as a Catholic priest at the time.The bishop allegedly kissed the victim during a pilgrimage to Lourdes and raped her in a presbytery and a canal boat, according to court documents.Lourdes is a major pilgrimage town for Roman Catholics, attracting millions to the foothills of the Pyrenees in southwestern France, where a local girl is said to have seen apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the 1850s. Oakley appeared at the Old Bailey today and was released on conditional bail to face court again on January 4.Prosecutor Sarah Madden last month told Westminster Magistrates' Court the defendant and girl 'started dating… after going on a pilgrimage to Lourdes'.'She recalls sex with the defendant on at least two occasions,' Ms Madden added.He was charged in June following an investigation by Staffordshire Police's rape and serious sexual offences team.David Oakley, 70, the Bishop of Northampton, allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl in the 2000sOakley, who was born in Stourbridge in the West Midlands and ordained as a priest in 1980, became Bishop of Northampton in 2020.He retains the title of bishop but has withdrawn from public ministry, having been first arrested by police in September 2025.