'It was consensual' says leader of central London church accused of raping schoolgirl

 
Jury: A stock picture of a church. Storey, a church leader, denies rape and assault by penetration (Picture: net_efekt/Creative Commons licence CC BY-2.0)
Flickr/net_efekt/Creative Commons licence CC-BY-2.0
Ramzy Alwakeel16 July 2015
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A central London church leader who allegedly raped a schoolgirl has claimed his relationship with the teenager was consensual.

Youth group head Timothy Storey, formerly of Peckham, south London, denies two counts of rape and one of assault by penetration against the woman, as well as two further rape charges against another victim.

But Storey, 35, admits he used his position to get close to girls, claiming he sought help from doctors after a complaint was made about his behaviour to church bosses, and started going to a help group for sex addicts.

Storey was convicted of eight child sex charges last year after admitting he persuaded girls as young as 12 to film themselves naked over webcams. He avoided prison and was given a three-year rehabilitation order.

Last week Woolwich Crown Court heard he had forced a schoolgirl to perform a sex act on him in the toilet of his flat before telling her to leave - so he could watch Gladiator and eat a takeaway.

The woman, speaking from behind a screen, told jurors: "It was like he had me in a spider's web. There was no direction where I could turn where I wasn't somehow being affected by him."

Storey, who later became a trainee vicar, allegedly spent years manipulating her.

The case continues.

Additional reporting by Press Association

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in