In 2018, the Offender Database reported that Kieran Creaven, then 56, of Dublin, Ireland, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court.
Kieran Creaven was jailed for 18 months after being caught in a sophisticated sting operation by the anti-paedophile group Predator Exposure. The disgraced former RTÉ sports producer was lured from Ireland to a hotel in Leeds under the belief that he was going to meet a 13-year-old girl he had been grooming online for several months.
The court heard that Kieran Creaven used fake Facebook profiles to target his intended victims and even purchased credit for their smartphones to maintain contact as part of a persistent grooming process. He planned his travel from Dublin to Leeds on two separate occasions specifically to meet the fictional child, expressing a desire to “snuggle” her and “smell her hair” in his highly inappropriate messages.
When police arrested Kieran Creaven outside the Leeds hotel on November 18, 2017, they found him in possession of two mobile phones, a list of female names, and two boxes of condoms. During the investigation, it was revealed that Kieran Creaven had watched disturbing movies of children being sexually abused and raped, and he explicitly admitted to authorities: “I find children attractive.”
Kieran Creaven pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and attempting to incite a child into sexual activity. Following his conviction, he was dismissed from his high-profile role at RTÉ and was placed on the sex offenders register; however, he was recently released from a UK prison after serving just ten months of his sentence and has since returned to the streets of Dublin.
If you or anyone you know has been affected by the individuals highlighted on this website, please report them to the Police on 101 (999 in an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details on reporting a crime. You can also report to Crimestoppers if you wish to remain completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.