Now gardaí look into RTÉ producer’s trips

Sex sting man travelled widely and was in Cambodia

GARDAÍ have established that RTÉ sports producer Kieran Creaven travelled to many countries including Cambodia and say his activities overseas will now be closely examined.

Mr Creaven has been charged in Britain with attempting to incite sexual activity with an underage girl and appeared before a court in Leeds on Monday.

Mr Creaven, it is claimed, flew from Dublin to Leeds to meet up at a hotel with the girl, whose identity was fake and created by a group of vigilante paedophile hunters known as Predator Exposure. It is understood that he has now arrived back in Dublin after being bailed.

RTÉ has suspended its employee, who earns more than €100,000 a year, it is understood.

The producer, 54, has travelled extensively as part of his work In Dublin: Kieran Creaven and also in a personal capacity. The Mail revealed yesterday that gardaí searched the Dublin home of Mr Creaven on Monday acting on a warrant. Gardaí are now working closely with police in Britain in an investigation into the RTÉ sports producer.

Gardaí seized a computer and other electronic items from his south Dublin home on Monday morning, which he shares his wife. The Garda National Protective Services Bureau launched a probe into Mr Creaven on foot of a request from police in Leeds.

Sources say a trawl though his electronic devices could take several months and said there was now an ‘entirely separate’ Garda probe into Mr Creaven’s activities. This includes his international travel as well as his social media accounts, one of which has now been suspended.

According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Creaven travelled for RTÉ to Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012 as well as to London for the Olympics in 2012. RTÉ is cooperating fully with gardaí.

Mr Creaven appeared in court in Leeds on Monday charged with two offences in relation to attempting to engage in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl. He was allowed to return to Ire- land under the terms of his bail. Mr Creaven, whose address cannot be published by order of the court, was arrested in Leeds on Saturday night.

He is accused of attempting to meet a 13-year-old girl at The Queens hotel in Leeds on one or more occasions between 17 July and 18 November this year, following grooming.

He is also accused that between the same dates he attempted to incite a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity.

The Crown Prosecution Service objected to bail given Mr Creaven’s address is in Dublin and not Leeds. However, it was granted under strict conditions.

Under the terms of his bail, he must reside at an address given in court and he is not allowed to have any unsupervised contact with children under 16.

Mr Creaven was also told he must comply with any request from British police to supply any device that may have access to the internet. He has been directed to appear at Leeds Crown Court on 18 December, or face arrest.

He was allowed to return to Ireland