TIMOTHY STOREY, TRAINEE VICAR IN LONDON, SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST TEENAGE GIRLS

In April 2016, Timothy Storey, a 35-year-old trainee vicar and former church youth leader based in London, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of raping two teenage girls. Storey targeted vulnerable young Christians attending summer camps he worked at, fostering relationships over time and grooming them for sexual abuse.

Storey, who was employed at St Michael’s Church in Victoria, pretended to uphold Christian virtues such as abstinence while secretly manipulating and abusing young girls from the congregation. His crimes included sending sexual texts and social media messages to his victims, ultimately convincing them to meet him.

Neither of the women can be publicly identified due to legal restrictions. The first victim, now 25, met Storey in 2002 through the church and was assaulted when she was 17 at his residence in Victoria, central London. The second victim, now 24, also a church member, was groomed via Facebook from age 16 and was raped twice after meeting him at a concert and later at his student accommodation in Oxford.

Despite reports to the church about Storey’s conduct, the allegations were dismissed or inadequately addressed at the time. Storey claimed the sexual encounters were consensual and that his victims appeared to enjoy the relationship. However, Woolwich Crown Court found him guilty on three counts of rape and one of sexual assault after a trial.

The victims’ bravery in speaking out led to his conviction following his earlier arrest in May 2014, when police uncovered his extensive online abuse. This included grooming underage girls through social media and possessing a large collection of indecent images of children, along with thousands of pages of sexually explicit Skype chats.

During sentencing, Judge Philip Katz QC criticized Storey’s 'fake religiosity' and hypocrisy, condemning his betrayal of trust and cruel treatment of the victims. The judge remarked on the severe psychological and emotional harm caused and noted Storey’s troubling pattern of developing ‘paedophile tendencies’ but choosing victims over the age of consent.

Judge Katz also condemned the church’s mishandling of the allegations, stating that the Diocese of London previously issued misleading statements that suggested police were at fault. He emphasized the church’s failure to safeguard its members and praised police for their diligent investigation.

Throughout the trial, testimonies revealed Storey’s manipulation, including a plan to arrange a threesome involving a school friend and her sister, and his use of aliases such as ‘Tim Stone’ to contact minors. Both victims reported feeling trapped and powerless, with one describing her experience as being caught in a ‘spider’s web’.

Police and child exploitation officers reiterated the importance of victims’ courage in coming forward and stressed that Storey’s actions breached the sacred trust placed in him as a church youth leader. He was remanded in custody and is scheduled for sentencing, with the court indicating that he may be classified as a dangerous offender in the future.