An ex-royal household priest is currently being investigated after being accused of raping a teenage girl. The priest, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been accused of raping and sexually assaulting a woman for more than 18 months when she was a teenager in the 1990s.

As reported by The Mirror, the woman, who is now in her 40s and cannot be named, told the Metropolitan Police last month that she wanted justice. The alleged offences are reported to have happened after the priest completed his duties within the Royal Household.

The priest has been accused of grooming the then 16-year-old girl after she had been traumatised by the death of her father, and that a police investigation is now underway.

The paper reports that the victim said, “I think what he did was beyond despicable. I would like to see him prosecuted and convicted. I don’t think he should get away with it. I would like to see justice done.

“I was raped when I was 13 by a family member. Then my father died when I was 16 and we weren’t offered counselling or anything like that. I found it really difficult.

“I was desperate to talk to someone about what happened when I was 13, because I had never told anyone, and also to talk about my father.

“He (the priest) seemed really personable and amiable and said I could come and have a chat any time in his office. I went to see him and he seemed very sympathetic and kind, and I must have lapped that up.”

The victim says she went to see him a few times and he became “more affectionate”. The priest is alleged to have raped the victim, with the abuse reportedly continuing over an 18-month period.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “An allegation of historic child sexual abuse was made to the Metropolitan Police Service last month. The offences are said to have happened…in the 1990s. The victim is being supported by specialist officers and an investigation is ongoing. No arrests have been made.”

The woman said she cut off contact with the priest because she wanted to go to university, the paper reports. She has since struggled with her mental health and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

The woman’s claims are likely to bring more negative focus on the Church of England, which has been hit by a series of high-profile scandals in recent years.