AFL Daily: Police arrest streaker who interrupted Seven footy reporter Mark Stevens' live cross
It was the wild moment that ruined a live news cross. But the hunt is now over for the 'Stevo streaker' and the reporter at the centre of the incident has broken down exactly what happened.
The 'Stevo streaker' has been caught.
Police are expected to charge a 21-year-old on summons after he exposed himself on national TV while Channel 7 reporter Mark Stevens was doing a live cross on Tuesday night.
Stevens was standing outside St Kilda's headquarters at Moorabbin when a man, who covered his face with a black T-shirt, suddenly appeared in the background of the camera shot without any pants on.
After jumping around and slapping Stevens on the backside, the streaker fled but he didn't get far as two police vans swooped.
An official police statement yesterday revealed that a man had been apprehended shortly afterwards in a nearby street.
"Cheltenham Police are investigating after a male exposed himself on a live TV broadcast in Moorabbin on Tuesday 24 March," the statement said.
"Investigators have been told a man was seen to run through a live TV news broadcast naked about 6.45pm.
"Police intercepted a 21-year-old Bentleigh East man nearby a short time later and interviewed him for sexual exposure in a public place.
"He was released pending summons."
To Stevens’ credit he never lost his cool and luckily there was a cutaway to overlay footage of St Kilda players training already planned.
“With a couple of minutes to go before the cross I noticed this guy standing in the garden bed nearby,” Stevens explained.
“I just thought he was an interested supporter and then just as I was crossing to Tim I saw out of the corner of my eye him getting undressed.
“But while that vision was running he came up and screamed in my ear and then slapped me on my butt cheek.
“If that vision hadn’t of been running we might have been in a lot more trouble.”
The veteran reporter wasn’t left too traumatised by the incident and was back on the tools again Tuesday night.
“I know we’re looking for things to brighten up our days at the moment but we don’t condone that sort of thing,” Stevens said.
“Let’s just say it’s lucky he covered his face because there was nothing to be proud of.”