Lawyers for an English bishop accused of raping a minor have asked the court to dismiss the case.
Bishop David Oakley of Northampton appeared in court at the Old Bailey in London on Sept. 10. The bishop had been expected to enter a plea in the case, in which he is charged with two counts of rape of a minor, as well as indecent assault charges. The bishop appeared in lay clothes and is not currently in ministry, although he remains bishop of the diocese.
Instead, the court heard that a new hearing would be held on January 4 next year to consider a motion to dismiss the case. No details about the motion’s argumentation were read in court.
The bishop is currently free on conditional bail, after having been arrested in June and charged with rape of a minor, a female, 15, on two occasions in February of 2000 and February of 2001. Oakley, who was serving as a priest at the time, allegedly kissed the girl on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, with the instances of alleged rape taking place in presbytery and a canal boat.
While charges were announced in June, Oakley, 70, was under investigation for months before that, and the bishop began a leave of absence in October 2025, which he and his diocese announced was taken for “personal reasons.”
Continue reading at The Pillar