Bishop David Oakley, the Bishop of Northampton, has been sent to the Old Bailey after appearing at Westminster magistrates' court on Thursday accused of raping a 15-year-old girl on two occasions in the early 2000s. Oakley, 70, has not entered pleas and the allegations have not been proven in court.
For context, the charges follow an investigation by Staffordshire Police's rape and serious sexual offences team into what the Catholic Diocese of Northampton has described as 'non-recent safeguarding allegations'. Prosecutors allege the incidents began after Oakley and the girl had travelled on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in south-west France.