Surrey Pride co-founder Stephen Ireland guilty of raping boy, 12
The co-founder of a Surrey LGBTQ+ group has been found guilty of raping a 12-year-old boy.Stephen Ireland, 41, was convicted of raping the child in the Addlestone flat he shared with David Sutton, 27, on 19 April 2024.Ireland, who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018, was also found guilty of three counts of causing a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity, one count of sexual assault of a child under 13 and six counts of making indecent images of children.Sutton, who also volunteered with the organisation, was found guilty of three counts of making indecent photographs of children and one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image.
The pair were convicted after a month-long trial and nearly a week of deliberations.The trial at Guildford Crown Court previously heard how Ireland and Sutton spoke of "snatching" or "kidnapping" a schoolchild in WhatsApp messages from 2022.Jurors heard the pair discussed targeting children outside school gates while pretending to be a talent coach or music manager, and how to avoid CCTV.Ireland argued the messages were "fantasy" and "taboo".The trial was also told that Ireland and Sutton described themselves as "pedos" in messages and that they discussed kidnapping and raping someone in the changing rooms of a swimming pool.Ireland and Sutton will be sentenced on 30 June.
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Daily Record
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