The founder of an LGBT “pride” group in the United Kingdom has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for what the BBC described as a “string of sexual offences against children.”
Stephen Ireland, 41, was sentenced to 24 years in prison by a judge last week for raping a child he met on a gay dating app.
Ireland met a 12-year-old boy online and became aware he was not of age, but told the child they could enter into a relationship as long as it was kept “secret,” the BBC reported.
The man took the young boy to an apartment he shared with another man he was involved with, 27-year-old David Sutton.
The boy told police Ireland raped him after the two smoked what turned out to be methamphetamine while also watching pornography together. Their interactions did not end there.
Police said Ireland later sent Sutton nude photos of the boy, whom he described as a “baby” and whose age he described as “naughty and kinky” in messages.
Ireland later sent the child graphic sexual images of him with Sutton and asked him to join them.
The convicted pedophile co-founded the Pride in Surrey organization in 2018. Sutton was a volunteer for the group.
Ireland was tried for rape, sexual assault, possession of “an extreme pornographic image,” and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Prosecutors said Ireland’s predatory behavior involved multiple other victims and took place over a number of years.
This is Stephen Ireland – founder of Pride in Surrey.
He’s just been jailed for raping an ‘extremely vulnerable’ boy he met on Grindr in 2024. He was also found guilty of possessing prohibited images of children.
He was sentenced to 13 years. pic.twitter.com/rmhtgW7KhE
— Peter Lloyd (@Suffragent_) June 30, 2025
The court heard Ireland had a long-standing and deep-seated sexual interest in children. Police said they recovered thousands of indecent images from Ireland’s devices after he deleted them.
The BBC reported that Surrey Police categorized the case as complex and disturbing.
Judge Patricia Lees said in court that Ireland had been guilty of “grooming” the boy and blasted Sutton for his role in taking advantage of him.
“You fed off one another,” she said of the duo during sentencing. “You definitely supported one another in your perversions.”
While addressing the initial messages between Ireland and the boy, who made either clear he was a minor, Lees told the predator, “Your response was telling … Far from finding that repugnant, you found that exciting, and sought to do it again.”
Sutton will spend at least four years in prison for voyeurism, possession and distribution of prohibited images of children, and perverting the course of justice.
Members of Pride in Surrey told The Telegraph on Monday that there were concerns about Ireland dating back to 2021 that went ignored.
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