Man sentenced to 5 years in jail for sexual abuse of children
Published : 25 Jun 2020, 01:55
Updated : 25 Jun 2020, 09:57
A court on Wednesday sentenced a man to five years imprisonment for sexually abusing a number of children.
The Turku district court awarded the punishment to the criminal as the charges of abusing children aged between nine and 13 at different parts of the country were proved beyond doubt, reported the local media.
The court also ordered the convict to pay a compensation of EUR 35,000 to the victims.
The convict faced various charges, including aggravated sexual abuse of a child, aggravated child rape, and the possession and dissemination of indecent images of children, reported the national broadcaster Yle.
One of the charges involving assault and taking photograph of a minor girl, however, was dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
According to the cases, the convict had used various social media channels, including Instagram to lure the children.
Once he initiated contact with his victims, he turned the conversations to matters of a sexual nature, such as requesting them to send nude photos, said the Yle report, adding that he also sent photos of his own genitals to a number of the victims.
The criminal activities occurred in 2019 and 2020 and drew police attention through tip-offs from both domestic and international sources.
The convict has option to appeal to the higher court against the verdict.