A district court in south west Finland has found a man guilty on multiple charges of sexual offenses against children and sentenced him to five years in prison.
The defendant had faced charges including aggravated sexual abuse of a child, aggravated child rape, and the possession and dissemination of indecent images of children. The victims were from different parts of Finland.
One charge of aggravated sexual abuse involved a child born in 2017, who was indecently assaulted and photographed by the defendant. The prosecutor had demanded that the charge of aggravated rape of this child be added to the case, but the court dismissed this due to a lack of evidence.
The man had used a number of different social media channels, including Instagram, to 'groom' children aged between nine and 13. Once he initiated contact with his victims, he turned the conversation to matters of a sexual nature, such as requesting them to send nude photos.
The court also heard that the defendant had sent photos of his own genitals to a number of the victims.
The crimes took place between 2019 and 2020, and were brought to the attention of Finnish police through tip-offs from both domestic and international sources.
The court also ordered the defendant to pay a total of 35,000 euros compensation to the victims.
The decision of the district court is not final, leaving the man an opportunity to appeal.