{"id":2454829,"date":"2025-07-02T15:48:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lgbt-pride-group-founder-sentenced-for-string-of-sexual-offenses-against-children\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T15:49:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:49:24","slug":"lgbt-pride-group-founder-sentenced-for-string-of-sexual-offenses-against-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lgbt-pride-group-founder-sentenced-for-string-of-sexual-offenses-against-children\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBT Pride Group Founder Sentenced for &#8216;String of Sexual Offenses Against Children&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flgbt-pride-group-founder-sentenced-for-string-of-sexual-offenses-against-children%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2454829&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Stephen Ireland, the founder of the LGBT group pride in Surrey in the UK, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for multiple sexual offenses against children, including the rape of a 12-year-old boy he met through a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-sheriffs-office-uses-gay-dating-apps-in-drug-investigation-charges-68-suspects\/\" title=\"Florida Sheriff&#039;s Office Uses Gay Dating Apps in Drug Investigation, Charges 68 Suspects\">gay dating app<\/a>. A judge revealed that Ireland, aware of the boy&#8217;s age, groomed him by suggesting a secret relationship and subjected him to sexual exploitation, including drug use and the sharing of pornographic materials. The court discovered a longstanding pattern of predatory behavior involving multiple victims over several years. Ireland also sent graphic images to the child, further exposing his criminal behavior. His accomplice, David Sutton, also faces prison time for his role in the offenses. The case has raised concerns about previous warnings regarding ireland&#8217;s behavior that went unaddressed.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The founder of an LGBT &ldquo;pride&rdquo; group in the United Kingdom has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for what the BBC described as a &ldquo;string of sexual offences against children.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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 &ldquo;secret,&rdquo; the BBC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cx2kkrxdpndo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The man took the young boy to an apartment he d with another man he was involved with, 27-year-old David Sutton.<\/p>\n<p>The boy told police Ireland raped him after the two smoked what turned out to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mom-arrives-day-care-screams-9-month-old-hospitals-test-reveals-sick-contaminant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">methamphetamine<\/a> while also watching pornography together. Their interactions did not end there.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Police said Ireland later sent Sutton nude photos of the boy, whom he described as a &ldquo;baby&rdquo; and whose age he described as &ldquo;naughty and kinky&rdquo; in messages.<\/p>\n<p>Ireland later sent the child graphic sexual images of him with Sutton and asked him to join them.<\/p>\n<p>The convicted pedophile co-founded the Pride in Surrey organization in 2018. Sutton was a volunteer for the group.<\/p>\n<p>Ireland was tried for rape, sexual assault, possession of &ldquo;an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bbc-producer-spared-jail-after-being-caught-with-child-sex-abuse-images\/\" title=\"BBC Producer Spared Jail After Being Caught with ... Sex Abuse Images\">extreme pornographic image<\/a>,&rdquo; and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors said Ireland&rsquo;s predatory behavior involved multiple other victims and took place over a number of years.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This is Stephen Ireland &ndash; founder of Pride in Surrey.<\/p>\n<p>He&rsquo;s just been jailed for raping an &lsquo;extremely vulnerable&rsquo; boy he met on Grindr in 2024. He was also found guilty of possessing prohibited images of children.<\/p>\n<p>He was sentenced to 13 years. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rmhtgW7KhE\">pic.twitter.com\/rmhtgW7KhE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Peter Lloyd (@Suffragent_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Suffragent_\/status\/1939764866618732820?\">June 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The court heard Ireland had a long-standing and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >deep-seated sexual interest<\/a> in children. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/7-foreign-nationals-arrested-attempting-one-many-elaborate-jewelry-store-heists-police\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Police<\/a> said they recovered thousands of indecent images from Ireland&rsquo;s devices after he deleted them.<\/p>\n<p>The BBC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cx2kkrxdpndo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> that Surrey Police categorized the case as complex and disturbing.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Patricia Lees said in court that Ireland had been guilty of &ldquo;grooming&rdquo; the boy and blasted Sutton for his role in taking advantage of him.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You fed off one another,&rdquo; she said of the duo during sentencing. &ldquo;You definitely supported one another in your perversions.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While addressing the initial messages between Ireland and the boy, who made either clear he was a minor, Lees told the predator, &ldquo;Your response was telling &hellip; Far from finding that repugnant, you found that exciting, and sought to do it again.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Members of Pride in Surrey <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2025\/07\/01\/stephen-ireland-surrey-pride-council-warnings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> The Telegraph on Monday that there were concerns about Ireland dating back to 2021 that went ignored.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The founder of an LGBT pride organization in the UK has received a 24-year prison sentence for multiple sexual offenses against children, as reported by the BBC. Stephen Ireland, 41, was convicted last week for raping a child he encountered on a gay dating app. He met a 12-year-old boy online and, despite knowing the child&#8217;s age, proposed they keep their relationship &#8220;secret.&#8221; Ireland took the boy to an apartment shared with another man, David Sutton, where he later raped him after they used methamphetamine and watched pornography together. Police revealed that Ireland sent Sutton explicit photos of the boy and described him inappropriately in messages. Co-founding Pride in Surrey in 2018, Ireland faced charges including rape and sexual assault involving multiple victims over several years. The court highlighted his long-standing interest in children and noted that thousands of indecent images were found on his devices after he attempted to delete them. Judge Patricia Lees condemned both men for their actions during sentencing. Sutton received a four-year sentence for related offenses as concerns about Ireland had been raised since 2021 but went unaddressed by group members<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2454830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Stephen-Ireland-sentenced-to-prison.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[58303,5520,56673,58302],"class_list":["post-2454829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-court-sentencing","tag-lgbt","tag-pride-2","tag-sexual-offenses"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Stephen-Ireland-sentenced-to-prison.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2454829"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2454833,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454829\/revisions\/2454833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2454830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2454829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2454829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2454829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}