The Bishop of Northampton, David Oakley, appeared at the Old Bailey on Thursday, 10 September, as his lawyers sought to have criminal charges against him dismissed. Oakley, 70, faces one count of indecent assault and two counts of rape involving a girl who was 15 at the time of the alleged offences in the early 2000s.
Oakley had been expected to enter pleas at the Central Criminal Court, but the charges were not put to him. Instead, the court was told that his defence had made an application to dismiss the case. Judge Trowler provisionally scheduled a hearing on that application for 4 January 2027.
