The founder of an LGBT Pride Group in Britain is facing dozens of criminal charges linked to online messages in which he and another man spoke of kidnapping and raping children. Stephen Ireland, co-founder of Pride in Surrey, and David Sutton, a volunteer with the same organization, are accused of 38 offenses. These include conspiring to sexually assault children, planning child sex offenses, and kidnapping.
Defense attorney Alex Krikler presented Ireland’s explanation regarding WhatsApp messages from 2022, allegedly including discussions of “snatching” or “kidnapping” a schoolchild, which Ireland described as “fantasy taboo chat.” The prosecutor argued the conversations went beyond hypothetical scenarios. Both men allegedly plotted to target children outside school facilities while pretending to be talent scouts or music managers.
Ireland told jurors that his visits to schools were conducted in a “professional” manner, intended solely for educating students about the LGBT community. Additionally, Ireland addressed accusations regarding a supposed visit to a swimming pool with illicit motives. He labeled the conversation as “role-play,” disputing any real intent.
Ireland is specifically charged with 21 offenses, including one count of child rape, three counts of enticing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one count of sexual assault. Together with Sutton, the pair face 13 joint charges, encompassing conspiracy and solicitation of child sexual offenses. Sutton also faces four further charges involving the creation of indecent photographs of children.
The Pride organizer was active on social media until last year, railing against the “TERF [Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist] regime” and denouncing skeptics of transgenderism as “non-inclusive, anti trans, dangerous & highly damaging [to] the lives and wellbeing of incredibly brave people, all of which should have the right to be, who they truly are!”
The case is just the latest involving LGBT advocates accused of child sex crimes. Late last year, the head of a Canadian Pride organization was also arrested on child sex abuse and pornography charges.
