Court increases Kuopio serial harasser’s sentence to 11 months

The Eastern Finland Court of Appeal has increased a 56-year-old man’s prison sentence from nine to 11 months for seven counts of sexual harassment, Yle reported on Tuesday.

The man harassed women he did not know in public places in Kuopio, including at a bus stop, during spring 2024. He followed women around the city and continued despite being asked to stop.

The district court had ordered him to pay four victims just under 13,000 euros in compensation and legal costs. The man denied the offences and appealed, seeking to have the charges and compensation dismissed or reduced. He argued that the sentence was too severe and that cultural differences should be taken into account.

The prosecutor sought a longer sentence because the offences were repeated and harmful. The Court of Appeal sided with the prosecutor and sentenced the man to 11 months in prison.

Earlier sentence upheld

In a separate case, the Court of Appeal upheld a one-year prison sentence for 10 counts of sexual harassment and two sexual violations. The district court had also ordered the man to pay victims more than 30,000 euros in compensation and legal costs.

In that case, the man harassed women and girls he did not know on buses and in central Kuopio between January and August 2023. Many of the victims were minors. The offences caused fear and anxiety, and one victim received psychiatric treatment because of the distress.

The man denied the offences and appealed against both the convictions and the compensation. One victim, who was 16 at the time, also appealed, seeking increased compensation.

The Court of Appeal rejected both appeals and left the district court’s sentence and compensation unchanged.

The man has received several convictions for harassing women and girls in public places in Kuopio over several years. The Court of Appeal’s decisions can only be appealed if the Supreme Court grants leave to appeal.