Warning graphic child sex abuse warning.
Eltham Wildcats is deleting comments on its instagram. Shame on them. They can delete comments but it won’t shut it down or change the truth about their failings!
They say they were worried about the legal ramifications of the matter whilst it was before the courts? They need new lawyers. The law (if applied correctly by people who know what they’re doing) meant he should’ve been suspended from his role when he was charged in 2024!
I can’t believe he took this to trial with the evidence all laid out in messages. Undercover police working in this area are very careful to ensure the age of the persona is set out multiple times so there’s no doubt in the event of a trial.
The Age article: (edited as article was too long to include in post, no words changed)
The chief executive of one of Victoria’s largest community sports clubs, with more than 3000 junior players, remained in the senior role for almost 18 months despite being charged with the online grooming of a 14-year-old girl for sex.
The failure to suspend Eltham Wildcats Basketball Club chief executive Richard Irving – or disclose he was the subject of serious criminal charges involving a minor – has prompted outrage from politicians and parents while raising grave concerns about Victoria’s working with children checks and the safety of junior athletes across the state.
Judge Daniel Holding sentenced Irving to jail for 10 months, but ordered he be released on a good behaviour bond after serving only two months.
Experts say Irving’s case is riddled with the same monumental failures that the government’s overhaul last year, prompted by the arrest of accused childcare paedophile Joshua Brown, promised to fix.
Irving was arrested by Victoria Police detectives in March 2024 and charged with using a carriage device to groom a child for a sexual act in January 2025 – just days after starting as chief executive at Eltham Wildcats.
Even after Irving was found guilty by a jury on May 26, he remained in the role until June 11 when the club announced to its 7000 members on social media that the 51-year-old had “resigned for personal reasons with immediate effect”.
The club told The Age that although it became aware that a Richard Irving had been charged with these offences on May 21, “it was unclear whether the individual facing those charges was the club’s CEO or another person with the same name”.
Irving was jailed on Friday for sexually exploiting the purported child online, whom he instructed to masturbate and told he had engaged in sexual acts with girls her age. Unknown to Irving, the 14-year-old girl he thought he was messaging was actually an undercover officer based in Queensland.
On November 13, 2023, Irving matched with “Lily”, the undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl who lived on the Gold Coast.
Lily told Irving she was in year 9 and that she was 14. Irving responded: “Is it bad that girls your age really turn me on?”
Irving asked Lily if she was into older guys, and told her he was a “naughty guy”. He went on to ask Lily if she ever masturbated or watched pornography.
The undercover officer and Irving then moved to messaging on Google Chat, where Irving sent a photo of himself in his bed.
Irving asked to “pretty please” send a photo of herself and the officer responded with an AI-generated image of a girl with the appearance of a 14-year-old child. After receiving the image, Irving responded: “OMG you are beautiful” and “is it bad that my cock twitched”.
He offered to send photos of his penis to Lily and asked if she wanted to “play a game where I tell you things to do to yourself”. The conversation continued to become more sexualised, as Irving suggested Lily masturbate and touch parts of her body.
Irving, a father of two adult daughters, sent several other disturbing sexual messages over the two-week period they spoke.
The club said it was concerned about the legal ramifications of telling parents details of the charges.
“We advised our members that Irving had resigned for personal reasons,” a spokesperson said. “The club was also advised of its legal obligations regarding privacy matters and the legal restrictions applying to the disclosure of information concerning an individual, especially given the matter was still before the court.”
The case also raises wider concerns about the state’s newly reformed child safety mechanisms.
Under the government’s several regulatory schemes – including the child safety standards, reportable conduct code, and working with children requirements – Irving should have been suspended from any work with children after his arrest back in 2024.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/paedophile-was-ceo-of-basketball-club-with-3000-junior-members-for-18-months-20260717-p60g91.html
