Pride Founder Who Repeatedly Attacked J.K. Rowling Online Gets 30 Years in Prison

Stephen Ireland was the co-founder a Surrey Pride, a pro LGBT group launched in 2018. He used that position to repeatedly attack J.K. Rowling as a hateful “TERF” over several years. Today, Ireland was convicted of raping a child and sentenced to 30 years in prison. His then-boyfriend was also convicted.

A man has been jailed for 24 years for raping an “extremely vulnerable” 12-year-old boy after the pair met on a dating app.

Stephen Ireland, 41, who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018, raped the child at the flat he shared with his then-partner and co-defendant David Sutton, 27, in Addlestone on 19 April 2024 after messaging on Grindr.

Ireland was also sentenced to a further six years on extended licence, while Sutton was jailed for four-and-a-half years for making indecent photographs of children and possession of an extreme pornographic image…

The court heard the boy had initially told Ireland he was aged 17 – but when he later claimed to be aged 13, Ireland replied: “OK – we just have to keep it a secret.”

This was not the only time the pair had targeted teenage boys. In fact, they discussed “kidnapping” young teens outside a school using fake identities to appeal to them.

In WhatsApp messages from 2022, Mr Sutton and Mr Ireland spoke of “snatching” or “kidnapping” a schoolchild, the court heard on Thursday.

Prosecutor Isabel Delamere said the conversations were beyond fantasy. Jurors were told the pair discussed targeting children outside school gates while pretending to be a talent coach or music manager, as well as how to avoid CCTV cameras.

In one message, Mr Ireland allegedly said “All I’m thinking of is making out with a 13”, while in another he wrote to Mr Sutton “Every day passes and I wanna do something terrible with you,” the court heard.

Jurors were also told that Mr Sutton and Mr Ireland described themselves as “pedos” in messages and that they discussed kidnapping and raping someone in the changing rooms of a swimming pool.

Both defendants denied everything and said the texts were just fantasies but obviously a jury didn’t buy it. J.K. Rowling highlighted the conviction today, pointing out that Ireland had repeatedly gone after her online over several years.

Stephen Ireland, who targeted me with endless abuse on here because I oppose the chemical castration of children and the removal of protected spaces for women and girls, has just been sentenced to 30 years in jail for child rape. pic.twitter.com/0HHctRocB4

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 30, 2025

Someone else posted some of Ireland’s other tweets aimed at Rowling:

@StephenAIreland has been sentenced to 30 years for a range of child sex offences including raping a 12yr old boy

He fantasied about pumping kids with oestrogen and infecting them with HIV

No wonder he hates women like JKR who stand for women & children’s rights#InPlainSight pic.twitter.com/xpIoaVHxr8

— Le_Sorelle_Arduino KPSS (@Sorelle_Arduino) June 30, 2025

These aren’t nearly as bad as some of what Rowling frequently receives. Still, it must be nice to have one less critic using their position with a Pride group to attack you as a hater. It will probably be a long time before Ireland is tweeting again.