Claire Matthews and Lidia Iancu successful in prosecution of former Army Cadet leader and city councillor for sexual offences against children

Case Overview

Claire Matthews leading Lidia Iancu, instructed by East of England CPS Complex Casework Unit, successfully prosecuted Rylan Ray, a former Peterborough city councillor and Cambridgeshire Army Cadet Force leader, for a large number of sexual offences. Many of the offences were against boys he had instructed as a cadet leader, and they took place over a six-year period. During the indictment period, Rylan Ray also worked as a Youth Support Worker at Peterborough City Counsel, as a Team Lead Manager for HMCTS and as a Court Manager for the Ministry of Justice.

Investigation and evidence

During the investigation, police seized the defendant’s devices and found more than 700 indecent images of children on them. The case involved 11 male victims. Many were teenagers the defendant had met through his role with the Cambridgeshire Army Cadet Force. The prosecution’s case was that the defendant used social media apps such as Snapchat to groom the boys. In some cases he posed as a girl named Chelsie.

Defendant, Trial and Verdict

The defendant pleaded guilty to five offences against one teenage boy. He stood trial at Ipswich Crown Court. During evidence, the defendant sought to explain the presence of images on his phone by alleging that he had found the phone of a child cadet and said child cadet was posing as Chelsie. His account was that he had transferred images on his phone to stop said cadet from “catfishing” his fellow cadets. After 11 hours of deliberations, the jury convicted him of 23 offences, including the rape of a man he met on a night out. Twenty-two verdicts were unanimous, and the rape verdict was by a majority of 11 to one. That brings his total to 28 offences. He will be sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on 8 January 2027.

The case was investigated by Cambridgeshire Police. Claire and Lidia were instructed by Nicola Pope and Keir Morrogh from the East of England Complex Casework Unit.

BBC press coverage.

About the Barristers

Claire Matthews was called to the bar in 1998. She is ranked ‘Band 1’ by Chambers UK Bar 2027 and ‘Leading Junior’ Tier 2 in Legal500 2027. Claire both defends and prosecutes. She is repeatedly instructed in cases involving serious allegations often involving complex medical evidence, in particular, murder, manslaughter, sexual offences and child abuse.

To instruct Claire, please contact her clerks Steve McCarthy or Regan Barns on 020 7404 1881

Lidia Iancu was called to the bar in 2017. She prosecutes and defends across the full spectrum of criminal work, with an emphasis on gang crime, serious violence, and sexual offences. She has acquired a reputation for being able to effectively analyse document-heavy cases where the evidence runs to thousands of pages of data.

To instruct Lidia contact her clerks Amie Harris or Chloe Little on 020 7404 1881.