1 month ago
EXCLUSIVE: Carlette Norwood was sat adjacent to her workfellow successful a car erstwhile she discovered he was a convicted activity offender.
Norwood runs an award-winning independent theater successful Birmingham, UK, and had hired nan man she past knew arsenic Ryan Jay arsenic a method head 1 twelvemonth prior, successful 2024.
Everything had checked out. Jay had a coagulated CV and Norwood had recovered him connected nan Mandy jobs platform, a database she had utilized antecedently for hiring. She ran a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which flags criminal records, connected nan sanction ‘Ryan Jay’ and it came backmost clean. He worked hard, was talented and nan brace struck what Norwood describes arsenic a very adjacent friendship, bonding complete their emotion of theatre and shared grief, having some mislaid spouses.
“There was ne'er thing romanticist betwixt america but we spent a batch of clip together,” she explains. “We texted each day. We would spell to meal sometimes. Unless you’ve mislaid a spouse, you really don’t understand what that feels like, truthful it was bully to person personification who had been done that benignant of loss.”
Fast guardant a twelvemonth and, successful a segment befitting a small-screen thriller, Norwood was sitting successful nan car adjacent to Jay arsenic she opened a handwritten missive from an anonymous sender containing newspaper clippings and accusation telling her that he was not who he said he was.
“It said, ‘Do you cognize who this man is, do you cognize who you are moving with?’.”
Norwood says Ryan “freaked out” erstwhile he realized what was happening. At first, he convinced Norwood that nan missive came from a erstwhile workfellow pinch a vendetta. Days later, she received a akin anonymous email, and this clip she digested nan attached article.
The man who had befriended her, opened up to her astir his dormant spouse and been welcomed into her location was not ‘Ryan Jay’ but was successful truth Jason Ryan, who successful 2021 had been fixed a 23-month suspended situation condemnation successful a tribunal successful Ireland for sending dozens of messages to a 14-year-old girl, described by a judge arsenic “grooming successful nature.”
An Irish Independent report from nan courtroom said that Ryan sent nan teen 40 Facebook messages successful 1 time from an relationship nether a different name. “You look truthful basking and your assemblage is truthful mmm,” read 1 message. Another asked nan teen if his texts would “turn you connected a little.” Ryan besides told nan woman he had performed a intersexual enactment to 1 of her pictures and asked if she was sexually active, adding he “knew immoderate girls who commencement astatine 12.” He later told section constabulary he thought she was 15 aliases 16. Police recovered he was utilizing 5 Facebook accounts successful different names. After receiving nan messages, his unfortunate told nan tribunal she had go anxious and frightened that he mightiness travel aft her.
Ryan pleaded blameworthy to 1 count of intersexual exploitation. Several months later, adjacent wherever he lived successful Cheshire, bluish England, he was required to be a tribunal proceeding and fixed a 10-year notification requirement, meaning he had to registry pinch constabulary astatine that location and pass constabulary of changes successful his specifications specified arsenic name, location reside aliases slope account, aliases if he was utilizing different names online. Under UK law, nonaccomplishment to comply tin lead to a maximum situation condemnation of 5 years.
“I was terrified of him because of nan level of betrayal and his expertise to dishonesty to my face,” says Norwood.
In images we person been sent of Ryan by Norwood, he cuts a friendly, assured figure, giving disconnected nan quality of a euphony hallway singer. Some of these pictures show him astatine an arena successful Birmingham pinch Black Box theater colleagues and attended by officials of UK actors national Equity conscionable a fewer weeks earlier he was outed by Norwood’s anonymous tipper. Little accusation is disposable astir him connected nan net but from speaking to those who person worked pinch him, nan Irishman appears to beryllium a spot of a jack of each trades – performing, directing, moving a accumulation institution and school play successful schools. He is astir successful his precocious forties.
The easiness pinch which he was capable to find activity successful nan intermezo manufacture by simply changing his sanction has caused alarm, and his is not nan only lawsuit of this ilk. Chris Higgins, who ran a theatre school, was jailed for 10 months for sending sexually definitive messages to a 14-year-old. After he had been bailed and pinch conditions imposed, BBC News reported that Higgins had posed for a image adjacent to a young girl, been interviewed connected shape astatine a schoolhouse play accumulation and congratulated younker theatre performers successful a WhatsApp group chat. The teen’s parents later questioned really her abuser was capable to proceed moving pinch children pursuing his arrest.
On galore occasions, Norwood and a cohort of others person contacted nan police, Equity, section politicians and moreover nan UK government’s section for Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) to kick astir Ryan’s behavior. All, they feel, to small avail. An Equity spokeswoman described nan business arsenic a “distressing issue” — “one which needs a robust consequence and action to guidelines retired inappropriate aliases vulnerable behaviour.”
Deadline put each allegations published successful this article to Ryan connected aggregate occasions and he has not responded to our requests for comment.
Tracing Jason Ryan’s footsteps
Since his condemnation successful Ireland, Ryan has moved astir nan UK a adjacent bit, surviving for a while successful Cheshire, touring a play crossed nan northbound of England and past landing his occupation pinch Norwood’s Black Box theatre successful Birmingham.
Norwood says she was shocked, wounded and acrophobic erstwhile she discovered nan truth astir him. After confronting Ryan, terminating his statement and telling him to time off her life, she was mortified erstwhile Ryan contacted her daughter, who was 21 astatine nan time, via societal media. “He’d ne'er messaged her earlier and nan truth he messaged her aft I had exposed him was scary,” she says.
At nan aforesaid time, Norwood realized she was not unsocial successful having fallen unfortunate to Ryan’s deceit and group astir figuring retired who it was that had sent her nan anonymous missive and emails.
It didn’t return long. Ryan could beryllium traced backmost to a 2023 touring play that he directed and starred successful titled The Story of Ireland, which started casting conscionable a fewer months aft his 2021 condemnation and opened successful Salford, adjacent Manchester, soon after. At this time, Jason Ryan opted for nan pseudonym Ryan Ireland, choosing to sanction himself aft nan play. In nan promo poster for nan show, each actors are facing nan camera, while he unsocial is stood successful nan mediate facing nan other way.
Two actors who worked connected that play, Michelle Riley and Shelley Rivers, show Deadline they sewage connected good pinch Ryan astatine first, earlier learning of his existent personality and subsequently emotion stalked and intimidated by his behavior.
Riley says she noticed he was guarded erstwhile discussing his family and ever near activity earlier than nan remainder of nan formed and crew. Rivers had a akin acquisition to Norwood. At first, she recovered Ryan to beryllium “very nice, very charming and benignant of a man of mystery,” and nan brace concisely dated.
However, towards nan extremity of The Story of Ireland’s first tally of shows, a shaper connected nan show told nan formed astir Ryan’s existent identity.
“I started researching him and emailed nan constabulary pinch everything that had gone on,” says Riley. “The feline had been up and down nan state gigging, not to mention doing this show successful different venues. His assurance had grown.”
After nan Story of Ireland cast recovered out, Deadline has seen grounds that Ryan was visited astatine slightest erstwhile by his liaison officer, while others from nan accumulation trim ties pinch him. The liaison officer’s sojourn did not clasp him backmost from applying to activity astatine Norwood’s Black Box theater.
Rivers now feels arsenic though she has been nan unfortunate of stalking that has caused psychological harm. Long aft The Story of Ireland finished, Rivers is convinced she was still being contacted by Ryan connected societal media accounts nether different names that were pursuing her ex-partner and his ex-wife and daughter. One of them, named James Rogers, utilized nan aforesaid phrases and nicknames Ryan had utilized successful nan past and knew accusation astir her and her whereabouts astatine nan time. “I would get messages from these accounts saying things like: ‘Safe formation backmost from Germany’ or, ‘The weather’s bad, truthful thrust safe’,” she says.
Rivers says Ryan has besides sent her respective agelong emails, each from different email addresses, that ever decorativeness pinch “I will ne'er interaction you again.” She has blocked each societal media accounts that she believes Ryan is utilizing to interaction her.
Rivers besides alleges Ryan would move up to her shows and watch her without asking her permission, which “made things awkward because he knew I wouldn’t retired him successful a nationalist place.”
Meanwhile, Riley’s worry was heightened erstwhile her plot gross was precocious damaged by someone. In a worsening authorities of paranoia, she says she felt she was perpetually seeing nan aforesaid car extracurricular her house, which she has reported to nan police. Deadline has seen nary grounds that Ryan was nan origin of either.
“I was successful a authorities of panic because he knew wherever I lived,” says Riley. “It was very heightened, because I didn’t cognize wherever he was, yet he had entree to each of us. I was telling nan constabulary each of this.”
She adds that she “kept reasoning back” to nan reporting from nan clip of his conviction, which said Ryan had “entered a enslaved to support nan bid and beryllium of bully behaviour.” Riley questions whether his actions since person been successful statement pinch this bond.
In 2025, Rivers landed a domiciled successful a play astatine nan aforementioned Black Box theatre successful Birmingham. That is erstwhile she realized Ryan was still working, but nether a different name. It was Rivers and Riley who sent nan anonymous accusation to Norwood.
“Carlette [Norwood] was telling maine really awesome this Ryan Jay was and I was like, ‘Oh my deity really americium I going to show her who this man is?’,” says Rivers.
Far from wanting Rivers retired of his life fixed that she knew his backstory, Rivers believes Ryan told unit astatine nan Black Box to formed her. “He didn’t look to deliberation it was his problem,” she adds. “It was simply inconvenient that Carlette had recovered out. I’m not saying group don’t merit a 2nd chance, but he doesn’t spell into these things and say, ‘Look this is who I americium and if you want to activity pinch maine past that’s great’. He goes in, waits to spot if it each goes pear-shaped, and past carries connected and picks up elsewhere.”
Cheshire Police told america Ryan does not person a Sexual Harm Prevention Order successful place, “and truthful it should beryllium noted that location are nary restrictions successful spot relating to his interaction pinch nether 18s.” Yet those we person spoken pinch for this article are of nan position that Ryan should beryllium forced to disclose his past if moving successful roles wherever minors are present.
“The only restrictions subordinate to ensuring immoderate names he uses online aliases astatine activity are registered nether nan position of nan Sex Offenders Notification Requirements,” nan constabulary add.
Despite nan position of this order, and contempt Ryan having been reported to nan constabulary for utilizing different names online and astatine work, nan spokeswoman for Chesire Police said it had “thoroughly investigated” respective reports made to them since Ryan’s conviction, but “there is insufficient grounds of immoderate criminal offences astatine this time.” The constabulary did not disclose immoderate much item to Deadline.
The lawsuit raises questions astir really UK authorities support tabs connected group convicted of kid activity crimes overseas. Despite nan activity described successful this article taking spot successful nan UK, nan Culture, Media & Sport section refused to remark connected nan grounds that Ryan was convicted successful Ireland.
We person seen evidence, however, of authorities correspondence that said Ryan was past twelvemonth referred to nan Hydrant Programme, a nationalist policing programme that supports section constabulary successful kid protection and maltreatment investigation cases. “If theatres prosecute an individual knowing that they will beryllium moving pinch children, past a cheque of immoderate grade is essential,” this CMS charismatic said aft receiving a title astir Ryan, failing to admit that his elemental workaround was to usage a pseudonym.
Riley, Rivers and Norwood person formed thing of a vigilante squad since nan mediate of past twelvemonth trying to clasp Ryan to account. They person been joined by Alexa Morden, who runs nan celebrated 98% Podcast that seeks to unearth instances of film, TV and theatre manufacture malpractice, and Ben Fletcher, a theatre shaper and writer.
The group consciousness their attempts person been met pinch a Kafkaesque furniture of bureaucracy, told by constabulary that they do not person capable grounds to beryllium he has surgery nan position of his registry aliases committed a crime, and told by others to support contacting nan police.
The group has implored Equity to move to show each members what they cognize astir Ryan and impulse others not to activity pinch him.
An Equity spokeswoman tells america nan national had “raised concerns directly” pinch a West Midlands theater, which we understand to beryllium nan Black Box, aft uncovering retired astir Ryan’s behaviour successful April 2025. “We person besides supported respective members who person been successful touch pinch america successful narration to concerns,” adds nan spokeswoman.
Morden told us: “I person been supporting individuals affected by this personification for much than 2 years. All we want is to support group safe. It should not beryllium this easy for a convicted activity offender to proceed moving successful our industry, and pinch children, avoiding accountability by changing his sanction and taking advantage of nan deficiency of regulation.”
She calls for “a accordant safeguarding framework, and meaningful accountability.” “Without those structures, this remains a vulnerable manufacture for galore to activity in,” she adds.
Since leaving nan Black Box theater, we are told of astatine slightest 1 amateur capacity that dropped Ryan aft discovering nan truth astir his past.
Those we person spoken to for this article judge he is moving again, but they are not judge wherever he is, who for, aliases nether what name.
