A Central Finland Court on Friday sentenced a man from Äänekoski to a three-month suspended prison sentence for publishing on two Facebook profiles photos and personal information of persons convicted of sex crimes.
Court officials said that the profiles had an estimated combined audience of 16,000 followers.
The man was found guilty of maintaining an illegal register, slander, and aggravated distribution of information in a violation of privacy.
Apart from the suspended prison sentence, the court also ordered the defendant to pay a total of more than 80,000 euros plus interest in legal fees and compensation for a total of 13 plaintiffs.
In handing down the sentence, the court said that the offences were among the most harmful personal data violations.
The court justified the severity of the sentence by pointing out that the explicit purpose of the offences was to cause distress to the parties involved.