Carlos Cruz (television presenter)

Carlos Cruz (born March 24, 1942, in Torres Novas) GCIH is a Portuguese former television presenter who has been convicted on charges of child sexual abuse.

Biography

Carlos Cruz was born in 1942 in Torres Novas. At the age of four he migrated to the Portuguese territory of Angola where, at 14, he started work as a sports reporter at the Emissora Católica de Angola and the Rádio Clube de Angola radio stations.^[1] Back in Lisbon, he attended the Instituto Superior Técnico where he enrolled in the electrical engineering program, but dropped out and started a professional career in Portuguese television and radio.^[2] Throughout his career in the Portuguese media he worked for the Emissora Nacional (now fully owned by RTP), RTP, Rádio Comercial and SIC.

Among his best-known television shows were Zip-Zip (RTP),^[3] with Raul Solnado and Fialho Gouveia; 1-2-3 (RTP); O Preço Certo (RTP) and Noites Marcianas (SIC).^[2] In 1990, he founded the television production company CCA (Carlos Cruz Audiovisuais), but the project went bankrupt.^[2][4] Carlos Cruz was the spokesperson of a successful Portuguese bid submitted to host and organize the UEFA Euro 2004.^[2] In 2002, the President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio awarded him the Order of Infante D. Henrique.^[1]

Update

In October 2011 in an interview with the magazine Público he announced his imminent return to television on the cable channel "House TV".^[5]

Paedophilia scandal

After a successful career, interrupted by a cancer operation,^[2] in 2003 he was arrested and accused of paedophile offences in the Casa Pia child sexual abuse scandal.^[6] In 2004, as an arguido ("formal suspect") involved in the trial, Cruz published a book of personal reflections, Preso 374.^[1][7] He was convicted on September 3, 2010, and sentenced to seven years in prison, but he is currently free pending appeals.^[8]

References