An Oxford University professor is facing trial after being charged with possessing indecent images of children.

Dr Lola Salem, 33, is a music lecturer at prestigious Oriel College, the oldest royal foundation college at Oxford, where King Charles is the ‘official visitor’ as reigning monarch.

She was suspended by the college, whose famous alumni include Sir Walter Raleigh, after they became aware of the charges in June.

She has also been barred from teaching students there and at fellow Oxford colleges Wadham and St Catherine’s where she previously lectured in French.

Dr Salem has been accused of possessing indecent images of children between May 2021 and February 2023. Three of the images are classed as category B, the second most serious category, and one is classed as category C.

She is currently on bail after pleading not guilty to the charges earlier this year. She is expected to stand trial at Oxford Crown Court next year.

Oriel College confirmed it ‘was made aware of serious charges against an employee in June 2026’.

It stated: ‘This employee was suspended, pending the outcome of legal proceedings.’

Oxford University professor Lola Salem, 33, is facing trial after being charged with possessing indecent images of children

French-born Dr Salem joined Oriel in 2022 and has been a lecturer in music at Oxford since 2018.

The academic, who was educated in Paris and attended the world-famous Sorbonne University, completed her PhD at Oxford in 2022 on opera business, singers, economic and legal history in the 17th and 18th centuries.

She was awarded a research fellowship in 2023 and has since ‘devoted her time to examining artistic institutions, governance and cultural policy’, according to her online biography.

She describes herself as an ‘academic, cultural strategist and fundraiser working in education, culture and the arts’.

She has also worked in the media as a columnist for the Telegraph, a business development partner for The Critic magazine and has appeared on BBC Radio 3.