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A paedophile and former chief executive of one of Victoria’s largest sporting clubs was approved by Victoria Police and issued a working with children check in order to work for a charity the same month he was arrested for the online grooming of a 14-year-old girl.
Registered charity Habitat for Humanity ran the pre-employment screenings for Richard Irving in March 2024, while he was under investigation over a series of disturbing messages he sent to an undercover police officer posing as a young teenager called “Lily”.
Despite the charity’s vetting process, the crucial failure by authorities to flag Irving meant he was hired without the organisation ever learning of his conduct.
After he left Habitat, he was hired by Eltham Wildcats Basketball Club, whose executives are facing mounting outrage over their handling of the matter, with some parents calling for their resignations.
This masthead revealed on Friday that Irving served as chief executive of the club for almost 17 months after being charged with grooming a minor for sex in January 2025, and continued in the role for almost a month after being found guilty by a jury in the County Court in May this year.
According to the government’s 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 he was arrested in March 2024. His employer also should have been notified when he was charged.
But Habitat for Humanity only learnt of the offending on Friday after being contacted by this masthead.
The charity’s chief executive, Justin Simpson, launched an internal investigation into its onboarding process soon after to ensure their strict safeguarding policies had been followed.
It found the charity had made no errors when hiring Irving and had conducted all the background checks necessary to screen prospective employees, including the successful police check and valid working with children clearance.
Simpson stressed that Irving did not interact with children during his role with the charity, other than on one occasion when he spoke to a group of female students from a prestigious private school during a tour of the premises in 2024.
The Eltham Wildcats Basketball Club, which oversees more than 3000 junior players, also conducted a national police check in October 2024, and Irving also provided the club with a valid working with children check at the time. Police had been investigating him for child sex crimes for seven months by then.
Irving, who is a father of two adult daughters, was sentenced to 10 months in jail for sexually exploiting the purported child online, whom he instructed to masturbate and told he had engaged in sexual acts with other girls her age.
The predatory messages were sent over a two-week period in November 2023. Irving initially adopted the username “want a sub” when he first made contact with “Lily”, before using his real name and email address.
He offered to send photos of his penis, sent a photo of himself in his bed, and asked “Lily” if she wanted to “play a game where I tell you things to do to yourself”.
While confessing to Lily he was attracted to “girls [her] age” and urging the child to carry out sexual acts on herself, Irving also shared personal details about his life. The father also told “Lily” if she “ever needed to talk to a dad-like figure, just message me”.
Eltham Wildcats president Peter Meehan responded to the crisis by releasing a statement on Friday evening, which further incensed many of the club’s 7000 members – with some parents threatening to remove their children from teams.
“We recognise that matters of this nature can affect individuals in different ways and may be particularly challenging and hurtful for some members of our community.
“Because of this, if you hear speculation or discussion amongst participants, families or members of the basketball community, we strongly encourage you to discourage it where possible,” according to a statement from Meehan.
The message sparked a furious backlash, including an online petition calling for the resignation of Meehan, the executive committee and general committee, which had received almost 200 signatures on Saturday.
“Can’t believe they are trying to tell parents to not discuss this,” said one member.
“Have they been living under a rock? Have they not heard of the abuse uncovered in the Catholic Church, or care homes, boarding schools, and the fact that people’s lives have been ruined by organisations and communities that chose not to prioritise the wellbeing of children?” asked another concerned parent.
A spokesman for the club had insisted it only became aware of Irving’s potential involvement in a court trial in May – almost 17 months after he had been charged.
“Eltham Wildcats became aware on the 21st of May 2026 that an individual named Richard Irving had been charged with certain offences. At that time, however, it was unclear whether the individual facing those charges was the Club’s CEO or another person with the same name,” said a club statement on Friday.
On Saturday, a spokesman for the Eltham Wildcats said Irving had emphatically denied he was facing serious charges when questioned by Meehan.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the force could not comment on the matter while Irving still had a 28-day period to appeal against his sentence.
Social Services Regulator Jonathan Kaplan said it was an offence for an individual to knowingly engage in child-related work without a working with children check.
There were also offences against an individual if they failed to notify their employer or volunteer organisation if they had been excluded, while it was also an offence for an organisation to knowingly engage an individual in child-related work if they did not have a check, Kaplan said
He said individuals charged with the most serious criminal offences, including grooming a child for sex, under the Worker Screening Act are immediately suspended before being issued a permanent exclusion from holding a working with children clearance.
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Carla Jaeger is a journalist for The Age. Got a tip? Email carla.jaeger@theage.com.au or message carlajaeger.62 on Signal.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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