Pride group founder jailed for rape of boy, 12

A man has been jailed for 24 years for raping an "extremely vulnerable" 12-year-old boy after the pair met on a dating app.

Stephen Ireland, 41, who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018, raped the child at the flat he shared with his then-partner and co-defendant David Sutton, 27, in Addlestone on 19 April 2024 after messaging on Grindr.

Ireland was also sentenced to a further six years on extended licence, while Sutton was jailed for four-and-a-half years for making indecent photographs of children and possession of an extreme pornographic image.

At Guildford Crown Court on Monday, Judge Patricia Lees said Ireland "took advantage" of a vulnerable child.

The boy - referred to in court as Child A - who had been reported missing at the time, told police they had sex in the flat, smoked a bong which was later found to have contained methamphetamine, and that pornography was played on a laptop.

The court heard the boy had initially told Ireland he was aged 17 – but when he later claimed to be aged 13, Ireland replied: "OK – we just have to keep it a secret."

"Your response was telling," Judge Lees told Ireland, who sat in the dock dressed in a large red T-shirt and showed no emotions throughout the hearing.

"Far from finding that repugnant, you found that exciting, and sought to do it again."

In a Telegram chat that took place after their encounter, Ireland sent Child A a message in which he described his age as "naughty and kinky", the court heard.

On the same day, Ireland asked the boy if he would have a threesome and sent the child pictures of himself and Sutton.

Jurors heard that Ireland sent a picture of Child A to Sutton, describing him as a "14-year-old baby" who "wants to play with men's bodies", and the pair exchanged messages about the child.

Ireland along with Sutton, who was a volunteer for Surrey Pride, were found guilty of a string of sexual offences against children including voyeurism, arranging commission of a child sex offence, and possession of prohibited images of children, after a trial at Guildford Crown Court earlier this year.

In August 2022, Ireland and Sutton discussed arrangements to procure a 13-year-old boy for Sutton's 25th birthday in October of that year, the court heard.

Ireland and Sutton were also found guilty of one count of voyeurism and one count of perverting the course of justice.

The court heard that Ireland had watched live camera footage of Sutton having sex with a 16-year-old boy at their flat in March 2024.

The teenager did not know he was being recorded, with Ireland sending Sutton messages such as "he doesn't know I'm here" and telling him what to do, the court heard.

"You fed off one another," Judge Lees told the defendants during the sentence hearing on Monday.

"You definitely supported one another in your perversions."

Ireland and Sutton also perverted the course of justice by intentionally deleting material and search history from their phones after they were released on police bail in June 2024.

Ireland was sentenced for one count of rape, three counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, sexual assault, conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, arranging commission of a child sex offence, six counts of making indecent photographs of children, four counts of distributing indecent photographs of children, possession of prohibited images, and possession of an extreme pornographic image.

Sutton was sentenced for offences including voyeurism, possession and distribution of prohibited images of children, and perverting the course of justice.

Judge Lees said: "Stephen Ireland is a man who prided himself on being versed in and highly alive to the vulnerabilities of young people linked to the Surrey Pride organisation he was at the time pivotal to.

"'A' was quite obviously to any adult an extremely vulnerable child who was highly sexualised.

"Any responsible adult would have quickly appreciated that there was a high likelihood A is a young man who had been the subject of sexual grooming by adult men at a very early age and been concerned for him instead of taking advantage of him."

Ireland's defence lawyer Alex Kirkler told the court his client did not abuse his position within the Surrey Pride organisation to commit these offences.

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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