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 during which Ireland had suggested they kiss and watch pornography.
The child told police they had sex in the flat, smoked a bong and that pornography was played on a laptop, jurors heard.
The trial heard how the pair discussed targeting children outside school gates while pretending to be a talent coach or music manager and how to avoid CCTV.
Ireland allegedly said in one of the messages ‘all I’m thinking of is making out with a 13’ and in another he told the volunteer ‘every day passes and I wanna do something terrible with you’, the court heard.
Sutton and Ireland also described themselves as ‘pedos’ in messages.
Stephen Ireland (pictured) , who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018, was convicted at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday of raping a child at his flat
The court heard the boy, 12, had met Ireland at his flat after messaging on dating app Grindr
They also discussed kidnapping and raping someone in the changing rooms of a swimming pool.
The court heard that in August 2022, the two allegedly discussed arrangements to procure a 13-year-old boy for Sutton’s 25th birthday in October of that year.
Ireland messaged Sutton and described himself as ‘a f***** up sick pedo perv’, while Sutton spoke of having a 14-year-old throw themselves at him, it is alleged.
Isabel Delamere, for prosecution, said the messages were ‘not just a passing fantasy or passing fad’ and demonstrated ‘a long and consistent history’ between Ireland and Sutton.
In October of that year, the pair discussed Sutton driving to a house to collect a teenage boy and possibly his sister aged eight or nine to bring back to their shared flat in Addlestone, the court heard.
Sutton sent Ireland a screenshot of his location outside a house but he could not work out where the boy lived and no-one went to his car, the court heard.
The prosecutor said this showed their plan to ‘abuse him (the boy) and his sister’.
During 2022 and 2023, the pair discussed sexually abusing two children, including a girl aged six, the court heard.
Jurors were also told that Ireland messaged Sutton in January 2023 and suggested going to a swimming pool to ‘perv and be slightly pedo’ and that they discussed what they would do there.
Ireland described himself as ‘a f***** up sick pedo perv’ in a text to Sutton
The pair will be sentenced for their sex crimes at Guildford Crown Court on June 30
In other conversations, the pair spoke of drugging and sexually assaulting a 17-year-old so that they could ‘fiddle’ with a seven-year-old boy, the court heard.
Jurors were also told that Ireland watched live camera footage of Sutton having sex with another 17-year-old boy at their flat in March 2024.
Ireland sent Sutton messages such as ‘he doesn’t know I’m here’, while telling him what to do, the court 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.
Sutton was also found guilty of three counts of making indecent photographs of children and one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image.
Neither Ireland, wearing a navy suit and white shirt, or 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.
The pair will be sentenced at the same court on June 30.
