RTÉ management did not know that the employee had pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography – The Irish Times

RTÉ management say they were unaware that an employee of the station had pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.

Justin Greene, a studio director for RTÉ News, pleaded guilty in October last year to two counts of possession of child pornography, contrary to section 6(1) of the Child Pornography and Trafficking Act 1998.

He continued to work at RTÉ until he was sentenced in March this year. Greene, of Johnstown Way, Enfield, Co Meath, received an 18-month sentence at Trim Circuit Court on March 6, with the final six months suspended pending his good behavior and on condition that he attend services of advice.

One RTÉ staff member described the revelation of Greene’s conviction to staff as “like a bomb going off here”.

“There is deep shock and unrest among his colleagues, particularly those who worked closely with him,” the staff member said.

“No one had any idea about this. “People are particularly surprised that he continued to work after pleading guilty in October.”

In a statement, RTÉ News said his managers were “completely unaware that Mr Greene was facing charges or had been convicted and sentenced in a local circuit court until they received his resignation”.

“Following his resignation, RTÉ set out some limited details about the nature of the case, but it was not clear at the time whether any restrictions would have been put in place as a result of the process to protect the identity of the victims. “RTÉ has ​​not received any communication from An Garda Síochána regarding this matter.”

Greene did not have an assigned RTÉ mobile phone. The statement concluded that RTÉ News has the “highest standards of digital security in our operations. “In an effort to protect our employees and ensure compliance with legal standards, RTÉ deploys advanced firewall filtering technologies across all networks and digital infrastructure.”

A Trim Circuit Court sitting in March heard that six graphic images of teenagers were found on Greene’s phone when gardaí seized equipment at his home in May 2022.

The court heard the defendant had co-operated with gardaí when they called his home and gave them lists of emails and passwords to facilitate their investigation.

His iPhone was the only device on which pornographic material was found. Judge John Martin was told the father-of-two had downloaded the material in November and December 2021, and he thought he had deleted all the images in January 2022.

A defense lawyer told the court the offense had taken place over a three-month period at a difficult time in his client’s life.

The lawyer added that the defendant, who had invested heavily in a career that was now coming to an end, was “absolutely ashamed and remorseful” and had sought counseling following his arrest.

Judge John Martin noted that the images had not been accidentally saved to the phone, but had been “actively sought out and saved” by the defendant.

Judge Martin said the sentence was not an act of revenge but an act of justice which must contain an element of punishment and rehabilitation. Noting that there were no victim impact statements in the case, the judge said child pornography legislation existed for the defense of innocent and defenseless victims.

Noting that a probation report had assessed the defendant was at a moderate risk of reoffending, Judge Martin reduced the main sentence from two years’ imprisonment to 18 months.

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