According to reports from the RTÉ executive board, they were completely oblivious to the fact that one of their staff members had pleaded guilty to child pornography charges late last year. An RTÉ News floor manager, Justin Greene, admitted to the offence in October under Section 6 (1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998. Despite this, he remained in employment until his sentencing earlier this year.
Mr Greene, a resident of Johnstown Way, Enfield, Co Meath, was given an 18-month sentence at Trim Circuit Court on March 6th, with the final half year to be suspended based on proof of good conduct and agreement to undergo counselling services. Laughingly, one RTÉ employee likened the shock of Greene’s conviction announcement to a bombshell, adding that colleagues, especially those sharing close quarters with him, were taken aback. A general state of disbelief is apparent among the staff as they struggled to comprehend he continued working post his guilty plea in October.
In their defence, RTÉ News released a statement claiming total unawareness about Mr Greene’s charges or his conviction at the local Circuit Court until post his resignation. Following his departure, RTÉ managed to uncover limited specifics about the nature of the case, with clarity on any protective measures likely placed due to court proceedings to safeguard the identity of victims still remaining unclear. RTÉ is yet to receive any input from An Garda Síochána on this matter.
Furthermore, it was revealed Greene didn’t possess a company-allocated mobile device. RTÉ News, in their statement, highlighted their absolute adherence to digital safety and security standards and their proactive approach, detailing the deployment of advanced firewall filtering technologies across all network and digital infrastructures to ensure both employee safety and legal compliance.
The Trim Circuit Court, in its sitting last March, was informed of the discovery of six explicit images of teenage girls on Greene’s phone by gardaí, procured during a search at his residence in May 2022. The defendant reportedly fully cooperated with the gardaí, sharing necessary emails and passwords to aid their investigation.
The court was informed that the solitary device where explicit content was discovered was an iPhone belonging to the male parent of two children. In November and December of 2021, he downloaded the explicit material and believed he had thoroughly cleared all images in January 2022. Judge John Martin was given this information.
His legal representative stated in court that this offence was committed during a challenging period stretching over three months in the man’s life. The lawyer, demonstrating his client’s guilt and regret, noted how he had made significant investments in a professional direction which was now terminated. The defendant had pursued therapy after his arrest due to these feelings of regret.
Judge Martin observed that these explicit images were not incidentally saved on the smartphone; indeed, the individual had purposefully sought out and secured the images. Judge Martin further clarified that a sentence is not passed as retaliation, rather it is a form of justice which includes punishment and rehabilitation elements.
Regarding this case, Judge Martin commented that although there were no statements provided revealing the impact on victims, it is crucial to remember that laws related to child pornography are established for the protection of defenceless, innocent victims. With a probation report assessing the accused at a moderate risk of committing the offence again, Judge Martin cut down the original two-year sentence to one of 18 months.