Ireland, who co-founded Surrey Pride in 2018, was also convicted of three counts of causing a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity, one count of sexual assault of a child under 13, and six counts of making indecent images of children. He will be sentenced on June 30 in the Guildford Crown Court.
"Stephen Ireland was a sexual predator who targeted a young boy and took advantage of his age and vulnerability for his own gratification," said Debbie White, head of Surrey Police's public protection team, the BBC reported.
The Court heard how Ireland arranged for the victim to meet him at his apartment after exchanging messages on Grindr, which is a gay dating app. After arriving at the apartment, Ireland kissed the boy while making him watch pornography. The two then had sexual intercourse and smoked a bong after.
David Sutton, 27, who volunteered for Surrey Pride, was also found guilty of sex crimes against children at trial. He was convicted of three counts of making indecent photographs of children and one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image.
The co-defendants were convicted after nearly a week of deliberation following a month-long trial. Ireland and Sutton had pleaded guilty to five counts before trial that were not presented to the jury. They admitted to possessing prohibited images of child pornography. Sutton also pleaded guilty to several counts of distributing the images.
White told reporters outside the courthouse that Ireland and Sutton attempted to "cover up their offending by intentionally deleting material from their phones once they became aware of the police investigation and following their arrests."
"This has been an extremely difficult and complex investigation," said White, adding that she "would like to thank all those involved for their hard work and dedication."
"I hope the convictions today send a clear message to any victim of a sexual offense, that you will be listened to, you will be supported, and we will investigate such crimes thoroughly," White concluded.
