RTÉ fires sex predator

DISGRACED sports producer Kieran Creaven has been sacked by RTÉ after the 55-year-old pleaded guilty to grooming a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Creaven appeared before Leeds Crown Court on Monday where he admitted to the sexual offences.

He had already been suspended following his arrest in the UK but RTÉ director general Dee Forbes yesterday announced his dismissal in a statement to staff.

The offences he pleaded guilty to carry terms of a maximum of ten and 14 years. However, it is expected Creaven’s sentence will fall at the lower end of the scale because he was attempting to meet someone who was not real. Sentencing is set for February 12.

Creaven was arrested by Leeds police after a UK-based organisation calling itself Predator Exposure lured him to the city by posing as a 13-year-old girl online. The group then confronted him outside a hotel where he was expecting to meet the ‘girl’.

Creaven admitted to attempting to meet up with or communicate with a minor following grooming.

He also admitted to attempting to engage or incite a girl aged between 13 and 15 to engage in sexual activity. The founder of Predator Exposure, known as ‘Phil’, says he has four months’ worth of chat history with Creaven, and describes it as ‘very dark’ material. He said: ‘He did selfies of himself in a studio and sent images of himself and there was a lot of material that is very dark.’

He added: ‘We knew he would plead guilty because he was bang to rights, and once these guys know they are caught, they just admit it all because they know it will be worse for them if they go to court and lie.’