Ex-RTÉ producer who sexually abused children jailed for 10 years

A former RTÉ producer who sexually abused and exploited young children, including flying to the Philippines for the purpose of child sexual abuse, has been jailed for 10 years.

Kieran Creaven engaged in behaviour "degrading in the extreme" for his vulnerable child victims, who were in some cases being abused for commercial gain, said Judge Melanie Greally as she handed down sentence on Friday.

One child in particular, who was sexually abused by Creaven in the Philippines, has never been found and her fate remains unknown, said the judge.

“As she has not been rescued, it is difficult to conceive she has any hope of a normal childhood, much less a bright future,” she said.

The 59-year-old then sports producer was arrested in Leeds in 2017 as a result of a sting operation by a vigilante group when he tried to meet a child for sexual activity. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment in the United Kingdom.

Gardaí charged him last year with a number of offences relating to child exploitation, sexual assault, and possession of child-abuse material.

Creaven, of Adelaide Street, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including four of child exploitation, two of sexually assaulting a child and four of child pornography. The offences took place in Ireland, the UK and the Philippines in 2014 and 2017.

He has been in custody since October last year.

Depravity

The judge said Creaven’s offending involved “different victims, different types of offences and different degrees of depravity”.

She noted he travelled to the Philippines in order to engage in child-sexual abuse. He then engaged in the “extreme abuse” of a girl aged between 10 and 12, which he recorded and stored for three years.

In mitigation she noted that Creaven has expressed remorse and has engaged with the Probation Services for the last two years. She noted he had lost his job and future employment prospects as well as his marriage. He will be on the sex offender register for life.

She handed down a 10-year sentence and adjourned the matter to December 16th to deal with the issue of post-release supervision.

Creaven, who appeared via video link from prison, made no reaction when the sentence was imposed.