Overview
- Staffordshire Police said on Wednesday that Bishop David James Oakley, 70, has been charged with two counts of rape relating to a female under 16 following an investigation by its specialist RASSO team.
- The formal charge follows Oakley’s arrest in September 2025 after an allegation was made to police and a months‑long probe by the force’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offences unit.
- The Diocese of Northampton confirmed the charge and said it cannot comment further because the legal process is active, noting the matter relates to non‑recent safeguarding allegations.
- Oakley, who withdrew from public ministry late in 2025, is due to appear at Cannock Magistrates' Court on 14 August 2026 to answer the charges.
- Oakley was ordained in 1980 and became Bishop of Northampton in 2020, and the case highlights how specialist police inquiries and diocesan safeguarding procedures are used for historical abuse allegations while the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.