A former church youth leader and trainee vicar has been jailed for 15 years for the rape of two teenage girls.

Timothy Storey, 35, formerly of Peckham, south London, posed a "serious danger to the public" because of his insidious behaviour, said Judge Philip Katz QC.

Storey had groomed the girls at a Christian summer camp and had sexted and messaged them through social media.

He was found guilty of three counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration at Woolwich Crown Court in February and was sentenced today.

Storey also had a previous conviction of grooming girls aged 10-16. The offences for which he was tried on this occasion were committed in 2008 and 2009 and relate to two women now in their 20s.

One of them was attacked when Storey used his position as a church youth leader to gain her trust.

During his trial, he was described as "every parent's worst nightmare". He preached the virtues of chastity and abstinence while grooming girls in the congregation at the prominent evangelical church of St Michael's Chester Square in the heart of London's exclusive Belgravia disrtrict.

One victim who was raped twice was so under his control she described him as "more influential than God". Both victims complained to the Church of England about Storey, but the allegations were "brushed aside," Woolwich Crown Court heard.

The Diocese of London said in a statement on his conviction: "The Diocese of London first received complaints regarding Timothy Storey's conduct in early 2009. He was then training as a Church of England ordinand at Wycliffe Hall.

"The diocese's child protection adviser at the time looked into the allegations and spoke with the Metropolitan Police Westminster Child Protection Team, raising concerns that his actions were an offence under the 2003 Sexual Offences Act.

"Whilst the diocese's child protection adviser recorded that police did not believe any criminal act had been committed, the diocese nevertheless took the decision to withdraw him from ordination training. The diocese subsequently submitted a report to the Independent Safeguarding Authority, now known as the Disclosure and Barring Service.

"Within the submission, the diocese stipulated that it deemed Timothy Storey's behaviour to pose a risk to those under the age of 18 and included first-hand statements that the diocese gathered from the individuals who had made allegations against Mr Storey. The national Church of England was also notified, to prevent him from applying for ordination elsewhere in the country."