Rylan Ray 26

Description

A former local councillor and cadet leader has been found guilty of rape and abusing his position to lure children into sexual activity after messaging them on social media.

Rylan Ray, 26, took advantage of his role as a detachment commander in the Army Cadet Force (ACF) to contact young people on Whatsapp to discuss duties and commitments without suspicion.

The former Peterborough city councillor would then encourage them to engage in Snapchat conversations which would become sexual.

Ray used a fake persona of a teenage girl called Chelsie to extract intimate images from teenagers. He was traced to the fake account when a phone call made from one boy to Chelsie was answered by him and another fake account was linked back to his flat via the IP address.

Photos of Chelsie, including the Snapchat icon, were found on his phone, together with intimate images from six victims that were only ever sent to the fake accounts.

He also told one 16-year-old, who he knew from the cadets and would meet up with on nights out, that as he was a Peterborough licensing officer, he could get him into clubs without ID.

The offences against 11 different victims only came to light in 2025 after two 16th birthday parties at Ray’s home, where he shared with another cadet leader. The parties were attended mostly by cadets or people linked to the cadets and resulted in parents complaining about the drinking and behaviour to the ACF.

Enquiries were made with various children who attended the parties, who then disclosed sexual messaging with Ray, who was also part of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) at Stanground Academy and Nene Park Academy schools - both in Peterborough.

Police were made aware in May 2025 and an investigation began, where some children disclosed that as well as the sexual messages, they had been sexually assaulted.

Ray, of Westgate, Peterborough, was arrested the same month and in police interview provided a prepared statement where he accepted that he “may have” become involved in conversations that were unwise in his position as cadet leader but were not, on his part, sexually motivated.

He said he was “truly shocked and disgusted” at being accused of these offences which had “ruined his career”.  He then answered no comment to all questions.

In later interviews, he accepted that he received topless images of one child and that some of the messages were sexual, but claimed he never actively encouraged this. However, he also accepted sending a photo of his genitalia to the same young boy, and also sending him pornography.

Ray was charged with a total of 25 offences and media coverage of these charges resulted in a further victim coming forward, who confided that Ray had raped him after they had met on a night out in Peterborough in 2019.

Before his trial began, Ray pleaded guilty to two counts of causing or inciting a boy aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, and causing a child aged 13 to 15 to look at an image of sexual activity.

During the trial he admitted a further two offences of making indecent images of children.

He stood trial to face the other charges at Ipswich Crown Court from 5 October, and after 24 days, jurors found him guilty of 23 further offences. The charges for which he will now be sentenced for include:

• Rape a man aged 16 or over
• Engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a boy aged 13 to 15
• Five counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child
• Five counts of causing a child aged 13 to 15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity
• Three counts of sexual assault
• Three counts of causing or inciting a boy aged 13 to 15 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity
• One count of causing or inciting a boy aged 13 to 15 to engage in penetrative sexual activity
• Three counts of making indecent photos of a child
  One count of possess an extreme pornographic image portraying rape

He will be sentenced at the same court on 8 January.

Detective Constable Gordon Logan, who investigated, said:

“The roles Ray held allowed him trusted access to young people, and he seized these opportunities to abuse them sexually.

“We would like to praise the bravery of the children involved in confiding in others what had happened to them. Doing so takes a lot of courage but it was so important that they did, because we then began investigating.

“Many of the victims involved felt they had no choice but to engage in the chats with Ray. In an increasingly digital world, mobile phones and social media mean children can be vulnerable to those who prey on their innocence and exploit their trust.

“We encourage all members of the public to be aware of adults who pay an unusual amount of attention to a child – no matter their profession. Sharing any concerns, no matter how small, can make all the difference.”