Court is told Producer, 55, accused duped suspended by TV by fake account chiefs over claim

application to bail the defendant to his home address in Dublin, where he lives with his wife.

The lawyer said: “While this is a serious offence it is not unusual for defendants to be granted bail in more serious matters.

“He has never been in trouble before and has never experienced this type of situation.” The prosecution pointed out if he was granted bail he might never come back to the UK from Dublin. They added Creaven should be remanded for his own protection given the coverage the case. The application for conditional bail was granted and Creaven will appear before Leeds Crown Court on December 18.

Creaven was granted bail on condition he has no unsupervised access to children under the age of 16, and that he must live at his Dublin address.

The defendant was also told he must surrender all internet-enabled devices if requested to do so by police.

As the decision to grant bail was read out people in the public gallery shouted in anger.

Magistrate Rosemary Heslop said: “There is no substantial grounds to believe offences will be committed.

“There is no history of failing to attend court. These are the grounds that everyone is entitled to.”

During the hearing, the defence also made an application for the address to be withheld from court for his own protection.

They said it was because of the emotive nature of the case, the press attention and the fact he is a high-profile TV producer who would be recognised.

The prosecution said that attention was already on the defendant and, thanks to the actions of the group, the defendant was already in the public eye for these matters.

A protest was made by a journalist who said just because it was an inconvenience to the defendant, the interests of justice should not be ignored by withholding the address.

The magistrates decided to withhold the address for the reasons given by the defence.

The magistrates added that when the case reaches the crown court, more information may be available that will change this.

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