Oxford theology student ‘raped two teenage girls while working as a pastor’

An Oxford theology student used his position as a children’s pastor to groom and rape two teenage girls in his college, a court heard yesterday. 

Timothy Storey spent his time at uni manipulating girls with flattering Facebook messages before launching his attacks.

Once, he forced a schoolgirl to perform a sex act on him, then ordered her to leave so he could eat takeaway and watch Gladiator.

The girls felt they had no choice but to submit to his demands because of his hold over them, it was said.

In May last year he was convicted of seven counts of inciting children to engage in sexual activity and two counts of making indecent images of a child.

After these convictions were published two different young women came forward and told police they had been raped as teenagers.

They had both previously told the Church of England about the abuse but no action was taken, the court heard.

One victim, who claimed to have been raped twice, described the defendant as “being more influential than God to her”.

When she told Reverend Jeremy Crossley about the abuse, he insisted they had to “look after” Storey and think about his “welfare and needs”, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Another alleged victim claimed she was raped twice in Storey’s Oxford halls where he was training to become a vicar.

The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, allegedly sent her a letter to apologise, but nothing else was done.

Prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters said Storey’s behaviour showed his “entrenched manipulation of young females to engage in sexual activity for his own gratification”.

She added: “After gaining their confidence and trust, he made contact with them and groomed them to form inappropriate relationships with them before manipulating [them] into sexual activity.”

The first alleged victim, who is now aged 24, met Storey, who is now 35, when she joined St Michael’s Church in Victoria, London, in 2002.

The jury was told how Storey first raped her at his student home when she was 17, but then told her to leave because he was going to watch a film and order a Chinese takeaway.

On a separate occasion he raped her in a small street after getting off a bus, it was said.

The second alleged victim, who is now 23, was allegedly groomed over Facebook.

When she was 16 he sent her a message asking what underwear she was wearing and asked her to send a picture of her in uniform, it was claimed.

He then allegedly started sending messages telling her about the sexual acts he would like to perform.

Prosecutor Miss Llewellyn-Waters added: “She heard a knock at the door and prayed for matters to stop.

“However when the defendant opened the door there was no one there.

“She cried during the night. She did not know how to get to the station and felt helpless.”

Storey is accused of raping each victim twice and of sexually assaulting the first victim.

He is also accused of meeting a third victim, a 13-year-old girl, whom he is accused of sexually grooming over Facebook.

Storey denies all charges. The trial continues.