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Carlos Cruz (television presenter)

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Carlos Cruz
Born (1942-03-24) 24 March 1942 (age 82)
OccupationTV presenter

Carlos Pereira Cruz (born 24 March 1942 in Torres Novas) is a Portuguese former radio and television journalist and talk-show host whose career ended after his involvement and criminal conviction in relation to the Casa Pia child sexual abuse scandal.

Biography

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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] 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] In 2004, The Guardian wrote that Cruz was "Portugal's most famous media personality",[5] and in 2010, The Daily Herald "once Portugal's most popular television presenters" [sic].[6]

In October 2011, in an interview with the magazine Público, he announced his imminent return to television on the real estate-focused cable channel House TV, but it never materialized.[7][8]

Paedophilia scandal

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After a successful career, interrupted by a cancer operation,[2] he was arrested in 2003 and accused of paedophile offences in the Casa Pia child sexual abuse scandal.[9] In 2004, as an arguido ("formal suspect") involved in the trial, Cruz published a book of personal reflections, Preso 374.[1][10] He was convicted on September 3, 2010, and sentenced to seven years in prison, but he was free pending appeals until 2013.[11][12]

Because of the sentence, Cruz lost his recognition as part of the Order of Infante D. Henrique.[13]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Carlos Cruz". Webboom.pt (in Portuguese).[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d e Carlos Cruz. In Infopédia [online]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2008. [Consult. 2008-10-24]. See: <URL: http://www.infopedia.pt/$carlos-cruz>.
  3. ^ "Zip-Zip". Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on October 22, 2008.
  4. ^ Patrícia Fonseca/VISÃO nº 550 (18 September 2003). "Ascenção e queda do Sr. Televisão". Visão (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on October 24, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Tremlett, Giles (2004-11-21). "Portugal rocked by child abuse scandal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  6. ^ "Portuguese court finds 6 guilty of child abuse". The Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
  7. ^ "Carlos Cruz regressa à televisão". Público. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Carlos Cruz: "Tenho consciência de que sou um produto tóxico num canal de televisão"" (in European Portuguese). 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  9. ^ "Carlos Cruz regressa a Tribunal no âmbito do processo Casa Pia". Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (in Portuguese). October 14, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-03.
  10. ^ ISBN 978-989-555-085-2; Publisher: Oficina do Livro
  11. ^ "Tribunal dá 17 crimes como provados". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). September 3, 2010. Archived from the original on September 4, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  12. ^ "Casa Pia defendant Carlos Cruz may be released for Christmas | Portugal Resident". October 29, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  13. ^ Miguel Santos (29 January 2015). "Oficial: Carlos Cruz e Jorge Ritto perderam condecorações do Estado português" (in Portuguese). Observador. Retrieved 29 January 2015.