Pride group founder, 42, who raped 12-year-old boy he met on dating app Grindr is jailed alongside partner
Stephen Ireland, who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018, raped an 'extremely vulnerable' boy and has been jailed for 24 years.
4
Stephen Ireland, who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018
Credit: Facebook
4
Ireland told the boy they would have to keep his age a "secret" and found his young age "exciting", the court heard
Credit: Facebook
4
Stephen Ireland was sentenced to 24 years in prison
Credit: Surrey Police
The 42-year-old raped the child at a flat he shared with his then-partner and co-defendant David Sutton, 27, in Addlestone on April 19 2024.
The court heard Ireland had arranged for the 12-year-old boy, referred to in court as Child A, to meet him at his flat after messaging on dating app
Ireland told the boy they would have to keep his age a "secret" and found his young age "exciting", the court heard.
The boy, 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.
Read more
Judge Patricia Lees, sentencing at Guildford Crown Court on Monday, told the hearing Ireland 'took advantage' of a vulnerable child.
She 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.'
Most read in The Sun
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 and Sutton, who was a volunteer for Surrey Pride, were found guilty of a string of sexual offences against children.
These included 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.
Both men were also sentenced on one count each of voyeurism after Ireland watched live camera footage of Sutton having sex with another 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 to 24 years' imprisonment, with a further six on extended licence.
He was found guilty of 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 to four-and-a-half years in jail for offences including voyeurism, possession and distribution of prohibited images of children, and perverting the course of justice.
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.
4
The 42-year-old raped the child at a flat
Credit: Facebook
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
‘Splitting' raises questions about oversight of Help to Buy scheme, says Simon Harris
Tánaiste Simon Harris has said the issue of 'splitting' a Help to Buy transaction raises important questions over the oversight of the Government scheme He was speaking after estate agent Sherry FitzGerald launched an internal investigation after a home buyer was offered a 'split' sale for a new-build property , in order for it to qualify for the Help to Buy scheme. The case was first reported in The Irish Times on Tuesday . Mr Harris reaffirmed the Government's commitment to the scheme for the lifetime of the Coalition, but he said that important questions had been raised by the issue of 'split' sales. 'When issues like that come to the fore it does raise important questions in relation to the oversight of the scheme,' he said. Mr Harris said he had total confidence in the Revenue Commissioners operation of the scheme but added that it was ultimately taxpayers money being used. READ MORE 'It's important that the integrity of the scheme is protected at all costs.' He said the Government would await any guidance or advice from the Revenue Commissioners or the Department of Finance in relation to the scheme. The Help to Buy (HTB) scheme is administered by Revenue and provides a refund on income tax of up to €30,000 to first-time buyers on new-build properties up to a value of €500,000. Social Democrats ' spokesman on housing Rory Hearne said it was 'alarming to see evidence of such blatant breaches of the scheme'. 'Questions need to be answered now about how widespread this issue is and if this case is just the tip of the iceberg,' the Dublin North-West TD said. The story 'shows that estate agents are playing a role in pushing for and facilitating higher house prices, which developers are also lobbying for'. [ The 'emotional toll' of buying a home in Ireland: 'split' deals and queueing for houses already sold Opens in new window ] 'The Government has done nothing to challenge the various market actors pushing up house prices, and has actually added to and facilitated house price inflation through the help to buy schemes. We need to see proper regulation and transparency in the house purchase market to stop the price gouging going on now,' Mr Hearne said. Mr Harris also spoke about the potential impact of trade tensions between the United States and the European Union as the clock ticks down on a 90-day tariff pause to charges announced by the White House earlier this year. The Tánaiste said this week would be an 'extremely intense' period in trying to secure a framework agreement between Brussels and Washington. He said that at the very least, the aim was to provide a sense of certainty where there was a 'vacuum' at the moment. He said the current situation was 'holding back people in terms of jobs decisions and investment decisions. We need clarity and certainty as to what the trade environment works like.' He said Europe and Ireland wanted to see 'zero-for-zero' tariffs as widely as possible and that the Dublin Government was working hard on the issue of pharmaceutical exports to the United States.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Chilling property ad inadvertently reveals haunting lost terror clues linked to massacre of 51 people
A PROPERTY listing has inadvertently revealed haunting lost terror clues linked to the massacre of 51 people in New Zealand. In 2019, Advertisement 8 A property listing has inadvertently revealed haunting lost terror clues Credit: 8 Investigative journalist Joey Watson discovered that this apartment was the place Tarrant resided before he launched the heinous attack Credit: 8 Tarrant was sentenced for the terror attack Credit: AP Australian Tarrant targeted Muslim communities, The terrorist during the shooting rampage. Graphic footage of the attack was live-streamed on Facebook via a headcam he was wearing. Tarrant told police officers that it was his plan to burn down the mosques after his attack - and that he wished he'd done so. Advertisement read more news The terrorist was sentenced in August 2020 and will spend the rest of his life locked up. Now over six years on, a property listing has revealed harrowing clues linked to the massacre. Investigative journalist Joey Watson discovered that the apartment on the real estate website was where Tarrant lived before he launched the heinous attack. The property listing appears normal initially, with a fairly desolate kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun But pictured on the desk in the study is a computer, logged in, with the screen completely visible. Watson observed on the desktop home screen a saved Word document thought to be Tarrant's 74-page manifesto he wrote released before the massacre. Moment suspected 'terrorist' arrested after killing one and injuring 5 in horror knife rampage In the manifesto, Tarrant described how he'd been preparing for the attack since his trip to Europe two years prior. During his visit to France, he'd described a town in Eastern France as a "cursed place", calling immigrants "invaders". Advertisement The author of the disturbing manifesto said he was inspired by The computer's background image also bears haunting clues linked to the attack, as it shows a painting from the 1860s called Among the Sierra Nevada by Albert Bierstadt. This painting is said to have reached popularity with extremists on dark internet sites visited by terrorists, Watson explained on his podcast Secrets We Keep: Lone Actor. The bombshell discovery comes years after New Zealand Police said it had never recovered the terrorist's computer. Advertisement Journalist Watson even downloaded the image and discovered it had been taken on March 4, 2019 - 11 days before the tragedy. Two other icons on the homescreen were spotted - an anonymity browser often used to access the dark web called Tor, as well as a software called Eraser that permanently deletes files. 8 Initially, it seems like a normal property listing, with a kitchen, bathroom, and rooms with barely any furniture Credit: 8 On a desk in the study is a computer, still logged in, with the screen completely visible Credit: Advertisement 8 The terrorist was sentenced in August 2020 Credit: Discord - a messaging app created for gamers - was also seen on the listing by Watson installed on the computer. The app had been used in the past by an international community of neo-Nazi groups which became collectively known as the Skull Mask network, according to Watson. Skull Mask is said to have emerged from an extremist forum called Iron March. Advertisement Watson revealed how terrorist Tarrant was connected to such networks and posted on extremist groups. The Christchurch massacre The devastating attack at the Masjid Al Noor Mosque and the nearby Linwood Masjid took place at around 1.40pm on Friday, March 14, 2019. The gunman opened fire on the two mosques, targeting worshippers inside. He then returned to his car to pick up another weapon and resumed firing inside. Advertisement He then shot two more people outside the Linwood Islamic Centre. Tarrant reportedly had been on a after his dad Rodney Tarrant died of cancer aged 49 . The attack prompted New Zealand to Advertisement "I did not attend university as I had no great interest in anything offered in the universities to study.' 8 Brenton Harrison Tarrant appears in a screen via video link in Christchurch, New Zealand Credit: AP 8 Tarrant seen during his sentencing at the High Court in Christchurch, New Zealand Credit: Reuters Advertisement
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork man caught sending sexual images to children in sting operation jailed
A 70-year-old Cork man was jailed for two years today after being caught in an online sting operation where he engaged in sexualised conversations and sent sexually explicit images to parties he was led to believe were 11 and 12-year-old girls. When interviewed by the probation service ahead of sentencing he minimised the offences, describing them as 'harmless fun'. Judge Helen Boyle imposed a sentence of three-and-a-half years with the last 18 months suspended at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, on Patrick Linehan, previously of Comeragh Park, The Glen, Cork. The judge noted that adults were actually masquerading as children and that the offences committed by the 70-year-old related to his intent and attempts made by him but, as defence barrister Ronan Barnes pointed out, there were no actual injured parties. Mr Barnes said the accused pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and cooperated with the gardaí. He said the defendant had an exemplary work record with Cork City Council, where he worked for 31 years in drainage. He is married and was living in South Africa until he returned voluntarily to face this case and plead guilty. Suspending 18 months of the sentence, Judge Boyle made it a condition of the suspension that he would return to South Africa within two weeks of completing his prison sentence. Patrick Linehan admitted using information technology to interact with children for the purpose of sexual exploitation and arranging to meet a child for the purpose of sexual assault. Evidence Detective Garda Brendan Murray outlined the background to the case. 'On July 8, 2023, gardaí were alerted to an incident at Comeragh Park, the Glen, Cork. On attending this address, they met with the accused, who was in the company of a number of people who purported to be members of an organisation called Child Online Protection Enforcers. 'A member of this group handed gardaí two USB storage devices which, he stated, contained sexualised conversations between the accused and two female children aged 11 and 12 years. It was confirmed to gardaí that these girls did not exist, but their profiles were generated by and controlled by adults posing as children. 'When interviewed by gardaí, the accused, Pat Linehan, admitted he had been in contact with two girls and acknowledged he was aware the girls really were 11 and 12 years of age. He later stated he thought the 12-year-old was 15 or 16 as she sounded older from the texts. 'He acknowledged he had sent her images and videos, but stated they were not obscene. He also stated that she had asked to meet with him a few times, but he had never met up with her. He described the communications with the 11-year-old girl as harmless fun. Social media 'During the investigation, gardaí analysed Facebook messages and WhatsApp messages between Pat Linehan and the decoy profiles of an 11 and 12-year-old female. The Facebook profile pictures of both profiles are of young female children who could not be mistaken to be adults. 'In the initial conversations with each of the profiles, Pat Linehan is informed he is communicating with children, and their ages are discussed on a number of occasions throughout the message threads. 'Pat Linehan initially states to both children he is 13 years old, but later, after sending selfie type photos of himself, is challenged and admits he is older, stating he was 62. (He was 68 at the time). 'Pat Linehan sexualised the conversations very early in the communications with both profiles and describes in graphic detail sexual acts he would like to perform on the young girls … He asks if they would perform sexual acts on him, to which they reply, questioning if they're allowed to do that, given their ages, Pat Linehan suggests nobody would know, that it would be a secret. He sent images of his penis to both girls, and he sent videos of a sexual nature to the profile of the 11-year-old girl. The message thread to both girls, began on the June 19, 2023, and continued for a number of weeks, concluding on July 8, 2023.'
