Cadet leader admits chats with children 'unwise'

An Army Cadets instructor accused of sexual offences accepted his conversations with his teenage accusers were "unwise", a court has heard.

Rylan Ray is on trial charged with 25 offences, which he denies.

Jurors were told that following his first arrest last year after two cadets complained, the 26-year-old, from Westgate in Peterborough, refused to answer most of the police's questions.

Speaking at Ipswich Crown Court, prosecutor Claire Matthews read a section of a statement given to police by Ray's solicitor at the time, in which he denied ever making an unsolicited request for sexual photos.

"I accept that I may have become involved in conversations that were unwise in my position but they have not in my part been sexually motivated," the statement continued.

When he was arrested a second time, he said in a statement through his solicitor that he was "truly shocked and disgusted at being accused of these offences".

"This investigation has ruined my career," he added.

Ray volunteered as a detachment commander for the Cambridgeshire Army Cadet Force and held roles at two schools in the Peterborough area.

He had worked for HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Ministry of Justice.

Ray was also elected to Peterborough City Council in 2022 – a role he left earlier this year.

The jury has already been told how Ray communicated with some cadets on social media apps such as WhatsApp, TikTok, and Snapchat.

Junior prosecutor Lidia Iancu read a statement from Nathan Ditton, the national head of cadet safeguarding, who said adult volunteers were not permitted to have personal contact with cadets.

"Such behaviour is likely to be considered grooming," it added.

The former councillor was arrested for a third time in November 2025 and answered all of the police's questions.

Matthews said four mobile phones and one laptop were seized as part of Cambridgeshire Police's investigation.

Indecent images of boys were found on them, she added, including several of the most serious Category A classification.

The offending is alleged to have taken place over a six-year period and involves 11 male complainants, many of whom were army cadets.

Charges include five counts of sexual communication with a child and three of making indecent images of children.

The trial continues.

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