Pride group founder convicted of raping boy, 12, he met on Grindr
Stephen Ireland, 41, co-founder of Pride in Surrey, and David Sutton, 27, were accused of ‘targeting children for their sexual proclivities’.
The founder of an LGBTQ+ group has been found guilty of raping a 12-year-old boy he met on Grindr.
Stephen Ireland, 41, who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018, was convicted at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday of raping the child at the flat he shared with David Sutton, 27, in Addlestone on April 19 2024.
Ireland along with Sutton, who was a volunteer for Surrey Pride, stood trial for a total of 38 offences between them, including conspiring to sexually assault children, arranging the commission of child sex offences and conspiring to kidnap.
The court heard the boy, 12, had met Ireland at his flat after messaging on dating app Grindr.
The child told police they had sex in the flat, smoked a bong and that pornography was played on a laptop, jurors heard.
Ireland was also convicted 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, one count of arranging the commission of a child sex offence and six counts of making indecent images of children.
Both were acquitted of one count of conspiracy to kidnap a child.
Sutton was cleared of six counts of conspiracy to sexually assault a child.
Ireland was convicted of one count of the same offence while cleared of five counts.
He was also found guilty of four counts of distributing indecent images of children, two counts of publishing an obscene article, namely electronic messaging relating to the sexual abuse of children, and one count each of possession of prohibited images of children and possession of an extreme pornographic image.
Sutton was also found guilty of three counts of making indecent photographs of children and one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image.
The pair were found guilty of voyeurism after jurors heard Ireland watched live camera footage of Sutton having sex with another 17-year-old boy at their flat in March 2024.
Both men were found guilty of perverting the course of justice by intentionally deleting material and history from their phones once they were aware of a police investigation.
Ireland was found not guilty of sexual communication with a child.
Both were cleared of conspiracy to administer a substance with intent and three counts each of arranging the commission of a child sex offence.
Neither Ireland, wearing a navy suit and white shirt, nor Sutton, wearing a grey suit and blue shirt, visibly reacted after the jury returned their verdicts after deliberating for more than 23 hours.
Before the trial, Ireland and Sutton pleaded guilty to five counts that were not presented to the jury.
Ireland admitted possessing prohibited images of children and possessing an extreme pornographic image.
Meanwhile, Sutton pleaded guilty to possessing prohibited images of children and two counts of distributing indecent photographs of a child.
Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent Debbie White, head of Surrey Police’s public protection team, said: “Stephen Ireland was a sexual predator who targeted a young boy and took advantage of his age and vulnerability for his own gratification.
“I would like to pay tribute to the victim in this case for their courage in coming forward and for giving evidence.
“I hope the guilty verdicts help them start to re-build their life.
“Both men have demonstrated an extreme sexual interest in children and the fact that the jury has found them both guilty of multiple sexual offences today means that they will no longer pose that risk.
“Both men then tried to cover up their offending by intentionally deleting material from their phones once they became aware of the police investigation and following their arrests.”
Claire Gallagher, senior crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “It is clear that both Stephen Ireland and David Sutton had a perverted and dangerous interest in children.”
The pair will be sentenced at the same court on June 30.
