The District Court of South Ostrobothnia has handed a retired high-ranking military officer a 23-month jail sentence for rape and weapons offenses.
The prosecutor had asked that Brigadier General Mauri Koskela be convicted of aggravated rape but the court did not find that to be the case. The victim's and Koskela's descriptions of events did not agree with each other. However, the court found that there was "no reasonable doubt" about Koskela's guilt.
During testimony, the victim explained how Koskela had been violent during sexual intercourse, including strangling the victim. The court heard that the victim suffered bruising, bleeding, pain and soreness.
The defendant denied the allegations.
The court also found Koskela guilty of breaking firearms law, in a case that began a couple of years ago. Among other things found in his possession were a military rifle as well as a Mauser handgun, neither of which had permits. He also kept several weapons in an unlocked closet, in the bottom drawer of a sofa bed and in an apartment building storage room, according to testimony.
The court ordered the confiscated weapons to be forfeited to the state.
Because Koskela's sentence was under two years in duration, the retired officer will not be stripped of his military rank and was not immediately ordered to be imprisoned.
Koskela's lawyer, Riitta Leppiniemi, said her client continues to maintain his innocence and that he plans to appeal the sentence.
Koskela had an extensive career as an officer in the Finnish Defence Forces. He served as chair of the Finnish Peacekeepers Association and was a recipient of the Order of the White Rose of Finland award, for distinguished service to the country, in 2020.
Edited on 6.9.2023 to reflect the firearms offense was an older case.
Edited on 6.9.2023 to clarify that the sentence was not suspended, as originally reported.