Surrey Pride founder convicted of raping a boy he met on Grindr
He'll be sentenced in June
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.
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.
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