Latest news with #PrideInSurrey
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘If the council had listened to me, this paedophile would have been stopped'
When Marion Harding contacted the chief executive of Surrey County Council in 2021 to raise safeguarding concerns about her local Pride organisation, she expected a speedy response. After all, the council itself had given Pride in Surrey tens of thousands of pounds in funding, and her concerns were about the protection of potentially vulnerable young people who came into contact with the LGBTQ organisation, which was set up in 2018 by local activist, Stephen Ireland. Harding, 62, and her wife, Cathy, 59, had volunteered for Pride in Surrey, but both had a number of worries about Ireland's conduct, not least that he had appointed himself head of safeguarding – a role that, according to guidance for voluntary bodies, should 'not be the most senior person in the organisation'. Ireland had sole responsibility for the group's LGBTQ 'helpline' for young people – meaning he had direct access to vulnerable children. Volunteers were also concerned that Ireland appeared to be in a polyamorous relationship involving a young man, and that social media posts by Pride in Surrey celebrated 'fetishes' – some involving young people – while Ireland was in charge. Harding wrote to Joanna Killian, the chief executive of Surrey County Council, outlining some of her concerns, including that Ireland was in a relationship with a young man 'who is barely 18', in what amounted to an 'abuse of power from a person in a position of trust, and could cause the wrong message to go out to young, vulnerable gay people'. In an email to Harding on Oct 19 2021, Killian said: 'With your permission, I would like to raise these concerns directly with Pride in Surrey CIC's management. Although we cannot investigate these matters directly as Pride is an independent organisation, we take seriously the concerns raised about the event we sponsored and the organisation itself – the latter of which we would normally wish to engage with again on similar events in future. 'I am particularly concerned about the safeguarding concerns you have raised – both in respect of the specific case you cite, but also in respect of the qualifications of those managing Pride.' Today, Harding feels deep anger. In March this year, Stephen Ireland, 41, was convicted at Guildford Crown Court of raping a 12-year-old boy, along with additional counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, sexual assault and making indecent images. His partner David Sutton, 27, a volunteer at Pride in Surrey, was convicted of offences including making indecent photographs and possessing extreme pornographic images. Both were also found guilty of voyeurism and perverting the course of justice by deleting phone data after becoming aware of the investigation. Ireland pleaded guilty to possessing 274 prohibited images of children and possessing an extreme pornographic image, while Sutton pleaded guilty to distributing a category A indecent photograph of a child, distributing three category B indecent photographs of a child, and possessing 64 prohibited images of children. On Monday, Ireland was sentenced to 30 years in prison and Sutton received a minimum 54-month sentence. 'I've gone through a whole gamut of emotions from anger to frustration as to why did nobody listen?' says Harding, who lives with Cathy in Guildford. 'Because maybe if they had, there wouldn't have been so many people harmed by this man and David Sutton. 'They [Surrey County Council] said they would investigate and report back, but it went silent. And after a while I stopped chasing, because I didn't need to be reminded of what this man was. 'Last summer, when I heard about his arrest and what he'd done, it made me sick to my stomach to think what these poor kids had gone through. If we had been listened to, there was a very high chance it would not have happened.' 'It was like rubbing salt in the wound' The Pride in Surrey case has sparked questions about what safeguarding concerns the local councils were aware of before the pair were arrested in April 2024. It wasn't just local councils that had formal ties to Surrey Pride. Until earlier this year, Surrey Police listed the organisation on its website as a 'partner agency' that 'can also offer information, advice, and support' on LGBTQ issues, in addition to the force's LGBTQ liaison officers. Harding and Cathy are not the only people who tried to raise the alarm. The Telegraph has spoken to several Surrey residents who reported safeguarding concerns as long as six years ago with Surrey council, Guildford Borough Council and Woking Borough Council, which also had ties with Surrey Pride. But no action appears to have been taken. Surrey County Council has, according to a Freedom of Information request, funded Pride in Surrey to the tune of more than £140,000 for various events and projects since 2020, including £24,275 for the year 2024-2025. Earlier this month, weeks after Ireland's conviction, Guildford Borough Council announced that 'Surrey Pride will be returning to Guildford' for a parade in October – the sixth annual Pride event in Surrey, and the second time it has taken place in Guildford. It included a hyperlink to the website of Pride in Surrey. The decision astonished those who had been trying to raise the alarm. 'I contacted Guildford Borough Council after the news about him being arrested and about the level of charges, and they didn't want to listen,' says Harding. 'I emailed Zöe Franklin [Lib Dem MP for Guildford] and Julia McShane [Lib Dem leader of the council] asking how they could let this event go ahead. Again, I got a very bland reply from Zöe that what was happening in court had nothing to do with the current Pride in Surrey. 'It was like they were rubbing salt in the wound, allowing them to have a Pride in Guildford again this year. There's an awful lot of bad feeling within the community in Guildford and those of us who are Guildford Borough Council taxpayers are thinking: 'What are you doing?'' Franklin and McShane say they were not aware of any concerns about Ireland before his arrest. Pride in Surrey issued a statement after the guilty verdicts in March this year saying that both men were merely 'volunteers', and that they had been 'removed' from the organisation in June 2024, after initial investigations by Surrey Police. Harding, who works as a driver for the disabled, claims the usual safeguarding role played by councils seemed to go 'out of the window' with Pride in Surrey. 'Cathy and I had joined in 2018 to help with the very first Pride event the following year in Woking, which was very successful,' she says. 'We would hang out socially with Stephen and his fiancé at the time. They were a gay couple and we were a gay couple and we really didn't have any concerns. 'But then Covid hit and the events had to stop, and afterwards, several things happened that we really weren't happy about. 'Stephen had appointed himself as a safeguarding officer of Pride in Surrey, which didn't sit right with us at all. 'I've worked with vulnerable adults and children much of my life, so I'm DBS checked and well trained in safeguarding, and knew that the founder of an organisation shouldn't be in charge of safeguarding. 'He'd also set up a helpline called You Are Not Alone, for young LGBT people if they were struggling. It was a texting service. They could text in and if they wanted to talk to him, they could. 'He wouldn't relinquish that phone to anyone. I offered numerous times to take it at the weekends to give him a break, as I knew some of the calls could be quite traumatic and that vulnerable children could be calling, but he wouldn't. 'Other people – at least ten – had expressed concerns about his behaviour,' says Harding, including an alleged 'polyamorous' relationship which involved a young man. Initially, Harding raised the issues with other Pride in Surrey staff, including its then chief operating officer, Lisa Finan-Cooke, who is now a Lib Dem councillor. Harding says her concerns were 'pooh-poohed'. 'A few of us were talking about how we needed him removed from the organisation, and we asked for a meeting in August 2021, where it all blew up,' she says. 'At one point I said to Stephen: 'If you're bringing polyamory under the LGBT umbrella, what next – rapists and paedophiles?' He went absolutely loopy, ordering me out of the room. That was the last official contact I had with them. 'We were due to go to Pride in Godalming, and I'd already got tickets. But the night before, I received an email from Lisa Finan-Cooke saying that they'd cancelled my tickets and, due to my 'discriminatory nature', we were barred from attending, and that Surrey Police had been told. 'I also received a cease and desist letter saying that because I was 'discriminatory', I wasn't to talk about Pride in Surrey on my socials.' Finan-Cooke, who left Pride in Surrey in May 2023, says she and others took safeguarding concerns 'extremely seriously', adding: 'Concerns were raised, although they did not relate to the charges against Mr Ireland, and these were investigated and reported to the authorities as appropriate.' Finan-Cooke says she welcomed the conviction of Ireland and Sutton. 'I will always regret not doing more' Harding and Cathy say they were two of seven Pride in Surrey volunteers to walk away from the organisation at that point. The couple emailed Surrey County Council with their concerns and Harding believes that another four people also contacted them. 'I emailed them to raise safeguarding concerns and spoke to (then chief executive) Joanna Killian via email a few times, who said she would look into it, but nothing ever happened,' says Harding. 'It just went silent. Today [Ireland] has done an extraordinary amount of damage and the sentencing isn't going to put that right, but what's getting under a lot of people's skin right now, is the fact that Pride in Surrey is still going.' Another Surrey resident agrees. It was in July 2019, after spotting photographs of Pride marches in Leeds and Manchester, that she first raised concerns with her local authority – Woking Borough Council – about a Pride in Surrey event which was due to take place in Woking the following month. 'I'm a supporter of gay rights and had been to Pride before, and it was always a fun day out and very family friendly,' says the woman, a marketing manager and married mother-of-one. 'But that year, I'd seen images of people in leather 'pup-play' fetish gear, such as masks and dog collars, which particularly worried me as children as young as two or three were being encouraged to pet them. As a mother of a then three-year-old son, I didn't want him exposed to that. I asked if this kind of 'fetish' was going to be allowed at Woking Pride. 'The woman at Woking Borough Council sent a reply reassuring me that, 'Pride in Surrey have been working closely with Surrey Police and youth organisations, to make the first Pride in Surrey a truly inclusive event that adheres with UK law.' 'She suggested I get in touch with the organiser – Stephen Ireland – who didn't really answer my question, and when I asked again, he was slightly aggressive. In the end, I decided I wouldn't attend. I wasn't at all surprised when I saw pictures of people in this leather fetish gear, playing out their kink in the middle of Woking Pride. 'I raised a formal safeguarding complaint with Surrey County Council and spoke to a safeguarding officer, who said that exposure to these 'pups' sounded like non-contact child abuse, but agreed that the evidence was weak and it would be difficult to take forward. 'She suggested I could contact Surrey Police, but as their support of Pride in Surrey was obvious, I didn't have the energy. I will always regret not doing more, but – as I've since discovered – like many other women, we did what we could at the time.' One is Louise*, herself part of the LGBTQ community, who says she felt 'an immediate sense of unease' when she stumbled upon a Pride in Surrey social media post in 2021, 'celebrating' International Fetish Day. 'The image was striking,' she says. 'It was Ireland holding a leash, with someone in a dog mask on all fours. As a bisexual woman I don't feel that 'fetish' is part of my 'community', and my instinct told me that there was something deeply unsettling about this organisation.' On further investigation, the person in the mask appeared to be a 17-year-old girl, says Louise. 'I was stunned. Where was the safeguarding? Given that my workplace had previous sponsorship of Pride in Surrey's annual event, I decided to voice my concerns, only to be swiftly shut down and accused of transphobia. It was one of the worst times of my life.' Undeterred, Louise also wrote to other Pride in Surrey sponsors, including Surrey County Council and the district and borough councils, to express concern about their support for Pride in Surrey. 'Over four years, I must have written over a hundred emails in the hope that someone might look into the organisation and check the safeguarding,' she says. 'It wasn't just that one image. I noticed that they were visiting schools, and I worried that their message wouldn't simply be that it's OK to be gay or have two mummies, but might carry a more sinister message. 'Then they began a campaign to have Surrey's Police & Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend removed from office because they decided she was 'transphobic', after she said that male-bodied people were not women. Wholly inappropriate given she is a democratically-elected official. 'But the response was always the same. Most didn't reply, or they said whilst they were taking my concerns seriously, they were committed to showing how inclusive and diverse they were.' 'Young people were badly let down' It is this commitment to 'inclusiveness' that some say may have clouded the judgment of council and police officials over the activities of Ireland and Sutton within Pride in Surrey. 'Once again, we see paedophiles using the cover of the 'LGBTQIA+ community' to conceal their evil acts,' says Kate Harris of the charity LGB Alliance. 'Several people tried to alert those in leadership positions, and they were ignored – as far back as 2019. It is in the public interest for the facts to come out. Young lesbians and gays should expect to be protected from predators – safeguarding is the responsibility of every single one of us. In this appalling case, young people were badly let down.' Terence Herbert, the chief executive of Surrey County Council, says that the organisation is 'reviewing any interactions regarding Stephen Ireland and Pride in Surrey during his time at the organisation. We are awaiting the conclusions of that review. While we wholeheartedly support the LGBTQ community in Surrey, there is no funding currently committed to sponsoring Pride in Surrey.' In a statement, Pride in Surrey says it 'takes safeguarding concerns extremely seriously and has safeguarding policies in place to respond to raised safeguarding concerns. 'Concerns were raised about Stephen Ireland that were unrelated to the charges against him. These concerns were investigated, and where necessary, reported to the appropriate authorities. The concerns were investigated in line with our safeguarding policy. Due to the importance of confidentiality in safeguarding procedures, we cannot comment publicly about specific details relating to safeguarding concerns. This is to ensure people can raise concerns with the assurance that they are heard in confidence. 'These investigations gave no indication that any wrongdoing had taken place. 'As per our statement released in March in relation to the verdicts regarding Mr Ireland and Mr Sutton, we express solidarity with and give our heartfelt thoughts to the victims and their families. We utterly condemn the crimes of both individuals.'
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Pride group founder, 42, who raped 12-year-old boy he met on dating app Grindr is jailed alongside partner
A PRIDE group founder who raped a 12-year-old boy he met on the Grindr dating app has been locked up alongside his partner. Stephen Ireland, who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018, raped an 'extremely vulnerable' boy and has been jailed for 24 years. 4 4 4 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 Grindr. 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. 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.' 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.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
JK Rowling gloats at virtue-signalling paedophile who slated her for her transgender views - as he is jailed for 24 years for raping 'vulnerable' boy, 12
A gloating JK Rowling has revealed how a virtue-signalling paedophile harassed her over her transgender views - before he was jailed for 24 years for raping a 12-year-old boy. The 59-year-old Harry Potter author lashed out online after perverted social media troll Stephen Ireland was sent to prison for his depraved abuse of the 'vulnerable' schoolboy. Ireland, 42, who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018, raped the youngster after luring him to the flat he shared with co-defendant David Sutton and plying him with drugs. The sex predator had arranged to meet the boy, referred to in court as Child A, after linking with him on homosexual dating app, Grindr in April 2024. But four years before Ireland went on to molest the boy, he had been vitriolically abusing Rowling online for her gender-critical views. In a post aimed at the multi-millionaire, Ireland raged: 'How to ruin a legacy... become a TERF! Very disappointing JK! 'What happens when women enter menopause? What about women who had hysterectomies? Women who don't menstruate because of hormonal issues? Are they not women? Nothing YOU say stops Trans Women from being Women.' Now, after Ireland was jailed alongside Sutton, 27 - who was sentenced to four-and-a-half years - Rowling wrote: 'Stephen Ireland, who targeted me with endless abuse on here because I oppose the chemical castration of children and the removal of protected spaces for women and girls, has just been sentenced to 30 years in jail for child rape.' Pictured is Ireland's post on X directed at JK Rowling for her views on transgender women Ireland was sentenced to 24 years in prison, not 30, as Rowling had claimed in her post on X. Guildford Crown Court heard the boy, who had been reported missing at the time of his rape, told police he had sex with Ireland in his flat. The victim said they also smoked a bong which was later found to have contained methamphetamine, and that pornography was played on a laptop. 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.' 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. Rowling added Ireland was not the only sex offender to now find themselves behind bars after berating her online for her trans-critical views '[Sutton] follows in the footsteps of trans-identified man Lexi Secker, who also sent me reams of abuse on here, especially for my belief that women should have single-sex spaces and rape crisis centres. Mr Secker has since been sentenced to six and a half years in jail for rape,' she wrote on social media last night. Secker was obsessed with the Harry Potter creator and slammed other women - including MP Rosie Duffield - who have spoken out on trans issues. The father-of-two, whose birth name was Alexander, lashed out on social media attacking the high-profile figures who have waded into the trans row. Despite being one of the world's most successful authors, she said Rowling was a 'shallow, insecure pleb who mistook success for intelligence'. Despite being one of the world's most successful authors, she said Rowling was a 'shallow, insecure pleb who mistook success for intelligence' Rowling had followed the case and wrote about it afterwards on X She accused the author, who has repeatedly stood up for women's rights, of 'pushing her hate too far' by condemning Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre's policy of allowing men to identify as women. The abuse took place throughout much of 2024 - a year after Seckler had raped a woman in Blunsdon, Wiltshire, while identifying as a man. After the attack on April 23 2023, she started identifying as a woman and was even referred to in court as 'she' when she was caged last September. The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, read out a victim impact statement in court where she said she had been left traumatised and feels ongoing 'unbearable anxiety, shame and fear.' The woman referred to her attacker in court as 'Alex' while the prosecutor and defence lawyers addressed her as 'Ms Secker' during the trial. A mug shot issued by police showed Secker with a full beard. Later pictures from social media sites revealed Secker to be clean shaven and her hair styled. Sending Secker to a male prison the judge accepted it would be difficult but told her 'You now identify as a woman and are attracted to men. At the time of this offence, you were a man. 'You identified as a man and you were, on the evidence, clearly attracted to women.' Rowling had followed the case and at its conclusion wrote on X: 'The important thing to remember is, he's a total one off*, none of the other men arguing against women-only spaces are predators** and we won't find out down the line there are more rapists hiding in plain sight.*** '*He really isn't. '**They totally are. '***We definitely will.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Surrey Pride 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 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 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 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 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 the same day, Ireland asked the boy if he would have a threesome and sent the child pictures of himself and 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 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 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. 'High likelihood' of grooming Ireland and Sutton were also found guilty of one count of voyeurism and one count of perverting the course of court heard that Ireland had watched live camera footage of Sutton having sex with a 16-year-old boy at their flat in March 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 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 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.
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Pride group founder jailed for 13 years for raping ‘vulnerable' boy
An LGBTQ+ group co-founder who raped an 'extremely vulnerable' boy after the pair met on Grindr has been jailed for 13 years. Pride in Surrey co-founder Stephen Ireland raped the child at the flat he shared with his then-partner and co-defendant David Sutton, 27, in Addlestone on 19 April, 2024. Guildford Crown Court heard Ireland, aged 42, 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 Grindr. 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. During her sentencing, Judge Patricia Lees observed how 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.' 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 and the pair exchanged sexual 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. 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 13 years' imprisonment on 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' imprisonment 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.
