Army chaplain who served in Bosnia and Iraq cleared of sexual relationship with woman who claimed he raped her in woods

An army chaplain and priest who was accused of raping a parishioner and leaving her pregnant has been cleared of wrongdoing after a church court dismissed allegations that they had had a sexual relationship.

The woman, who has not been named, said the Reverend Timothy Blewett had "forced himself upon her and had sexual intercourse with her" in the woods at Launde Abbey, a Christian retreat where he was warden at the time.

The married woman said she became pregnant as a result but later miscarried.

The Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal in the diocese of Leicester ruled that it was "not satisfied on the balance of probabilities, that the Respondent had an improper sexual relationship" with the woman.

However, a spokesman for the diocese said that despite being cleared Mr Blewett, who has toured Bosnia and Iraq with the Territorial Army, was still barred from officiating in the diocese as a result of the claims.

The allegation was first reported to police after a "third party" contacted officers in 2014, but the complainant "did not disclose any criminal offence and there was no further police action", said Judge Philip Waller.

The pair met when the woman visited the Abbey on a retreat in November 2011, and Mr Blewett, who is also married, became her "spiritual director".

They met again several times throughout 2012, during which time the woman said he "began to act more intimately towards her and behaved in a sexually inappropriate way".

On one occasion in March, the woman told the court, the pair went for a walk in the grounds of the Abbey, and "lay together in the woods and kissed passionately.

"She says the Respondent then pulled down her trousers and pants and had sexual intercourse with her, which she had not wanted."

Despite taking the morning after pill she then became pregnant, she claimed, and knew the child could not be her husband's "as he was unable to ejaculate".

The woman also claimed that when she told Mr Blewett of her pregnancy he suggested she become his "‘French mistress’ and that she should meet his wife and children so that things seemed normal," the court heard.

Following the miscarriage the pair continued to meet, she claimed, including assignations at "his home, a friend’s flat in London and a Premier Inn in Birmingham".

However Mr Blewett said the incident in the woods did not take place, as he had been with his Army unit in the Welsh borders that weekend, and produced a payslip showing this. An army reserves officer also told the court he had been with her on the trip to Wales.

He admitted the pair had gone shopping together in London that September, but insisted that their relationship had "remained professional throughout". He denied meeting her on other occasions during the year.

A court judgment released online earlier this month found that "the complainant has not discharged the burden of proving the allegation of sexual impropriety on the part of the Respondent".

The woman's evidence contains "significant inconsistencies and confusion about dates and events", the judgment added, and "significant questions remain about the overall reliability of her account".

However, Mr Blewett "did not take sufficient account" of the "vulnerability" of the woman, the judgment said, and entered into "a degree of friendship" which "went beyond spiritual direction".

Mr Blewett declined to comment when contacted on Friday.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Leicester said: “Where an allegation is made, it is our highest priority to listen and act accordingly.

"We note that despite dismissing the complaint, the Tribunal holds the view that Revd Blewett “did not maintain appropriate boundaries [in] his role as spiritual director”.