A manager at Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT has been caught trying to “buy” the virginity of a 14-year-old girl in a newspaper sting, claiming when caught that he was trying to save the girl.

The unnamed man met the girl on a website called “sugar daters” and offered to pay the 14-year-old 9,000 Swedish kronor, or £840, to be the first person to have sex with her when she turned 15. After the incident was revealed the public broadcaster released a statement indicating that the man had been immediately fired, Expressen reports.

The fictional 14-year-old named “Linnea” was actually Expressen TV programme manager Lisah Silfwer who manages the television programme “Crime Centre.”

During the chats, the man asked, “Are you a virgin?” and after receiving a yes said, “I can pay for it.”

Ms Silfwer then arranged a meeting with the man and confronted him regarding his statements. He claimed that he was trying to, “make sure there’s nothing happening since she’s 14 years old.” He added, “It was never a matter of buying sex.”

Police say the website, which is advertised as a way for men to “pamper” women with money and gifts, is linked to human trafficking.

Investigator of Human Trafficking at the National Operational Department (Noa) Simon Häggström said, “This is pure prostitution. We, from the police side, want to alert and warn that it’s very easy for underage girls to join these sites.”

“All cases we have checked in Sweden have been about prostitution and nothing else,” he added.

“Many pay double to be the first to have sex with these often underage girls and boys. In some cases, they have been bidding for virgins.”

Shortly after the incident was revealed to the public SVT’s HR and Communications Director said there would be a formal investigation launched into the matter and added that the man, who worked in lower management, would not continue on with the company.

Swedish Police Allegedly Kept Silent On Migrant Sex Mobs, Media Knew For Six Months https://t.co/O4mLyK0IQT pic.twitter.com/Z2UEnsUofv — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 13, 2016

The case will likely not help the crisis of credibility the Swedish media is currently undergoing among the Swedish public. A study from earlier this year showed that a majority of Swedes think the media outright lies about subjects like mass migration.

In one particular case, it was shown that Swedish media had falsely alleged that a deported Afghan asylum seeker had been killed in a terror attack which was used by many to justify the halting of deportations.