May 2014
Portadown sex offender sent to jail for 10 years
A Portadown man has been sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison after he was found guilty of 19 sex charges.
Henry Martin Joseph (Harry) Creaney (57), of Churchill Park, appeared at Craigavon Crown Court on April 25 for sentencing.
The defendant had pleaded not guilty to the offences which dated back to a period between June 23, 2002 and October 1, 2004 and involved three victims.
Twelve of the charges were gross indecency with or towards a child, while the remaining seven were indecent asssault on a female.
The defendant was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register and on the Independent Authority Safeguarding (ISA) barring list, a list of individuals unsuitable for working with children and/or adults.
He was also disqualified from working with children under the Sexual Offences Prevention Order until 2021.
At a previous hearing in August 2013 at Craigavon Magistrate’s Court, Creaney’s solicitor had claimed his client was under a death threat from an ‘active organisation’ and asked for a ban on his name being published
in the press. He said the defendant had received confirmation of the threat through the police. The solicitor argued any reporting in the press would heighten the risk to the defendant.
He also argued that publication might lead to the identification of the injured parties.
However, Deputy District Judge, Mr Liam McStay, refused to grant the order, saying he did not see that publication would lead to the identification of the victims or that the reporting was going to heighten the threat.
