• The Director of Pride in Surrey is accused of raping a child, multiple sexual assaults, voyeurism, producing indecent images of minors & conspiring to abduct a child.
• A former Pride in Surrey volunteer faces charges of voyeurism, extreme pornography possession, child sexual assault conspiracy & minor abduction plotting.
The patron of an LGBT+ charity that promoted gender questioning among toddlers has been charged with child sexual abuse offences, including rape.
Stephen Ireland faces accusations of raping a child, committing multiple sexual assaults, engaging in voyeurism, producing indecent images of minors, and conspiring to abduct a child.
The 40-year-old, who served as a director of Pride in Surrey until June, appeared in court on Thursday, facing charges of committing these offences over a two-year span from August 2022 to last month. He was accompanied in court by David Sutton, 26, a former Pride in Surrey volunteer, who is charged with voyeurism, possession of extreme pornography, conspiracy to sexually assault a child, and plotting to abduct a minor. Both individuals, hailing from Addlestone in Surrey, were arrested on Wednesday and have been remanded in custody until their next court appearance on September 12.
Ireland asserts on his social media that he is a patron of Educate and Celebrate, an LGBT+ charity that sparked controversy for encouraging toddlers to explore their gender identity.
“Educate and Celebrate aimed to embed gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation into the fabric” of various institutions, including primary schools.
However, the organisation unexpectedly closed at the beginning of 2024 following a series of controversies, including advocating for the replacement of “Sir” and “Miss” with gender-neutral titles and an incident involving one of its other patrons, transgender comedian Jordan Gray, who stripped and exposed their penis during a televised skit.
Upon its closure in January, the charity’s chair of trustees, Julie Bremner, stated that they would “continue our much-needed work through new projects.” There is no indication that the charity’s closure is related to the charges against Ireland.
Ireland was listed as a founder and director of Pride in Surrey, a charity responsible for organising annual Pride marches and LGBT+ events within the county. Sutton is believed to have been a volunteer with the organization.
The charity stated that it suspended both individuals in June after becoming aware of a police investigation involving them, although it did not know the nature of the investigation until charges were brought forward.
A spokesperson for Pride in Surrey told Surrey Live: "On June 12th, Pride in Surrey was notified by Surrey Police of an ongoing investigation involving two volunteers. Both individuals were promptly suspended from the organisation." "Following this, a decision was made to remove both individuals from the organisation, as well as Stephen Ireland from his position as director. We were not aware of the exact nature of the crimes being investigated…… 'We will fully cooperate with Surrey Police in any way they require. Our thoughts are with the alleged victims and their families.'"
