Court hears Finland’s largest alleged online child sex abuse case

The Pirkanmaa District Court began hearing what is believed to be Finland’s largest sexual offences case on Monday, Yle reported. The 28-year-old defendant is accused of approaching hundreds of boys on Snapchat between 2019 and 2022.

The case involves 361 alleged victims from across Finland. All are boys aged between nine and 15.

Police estimate that the total number of victims could be as high as 900, although not all of them could be identified during the preliminary investigation.

The defendant is charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child, sexual abuse of a child and aggravated distribution of a sexually offensive image depicting a child. He is alleged to have posed as a woman on the messaging app and asked the boys to send him images and videos.

There is no indication that he met the children in person. The alleged offences took place online. The defendant has partially admitted to the acts.

The trial is expected to last until at least the end of the year, with around 45 hearing days scheduled. The court is expected to sit approximately three days a week.

Monday’s proceedings began with a public presentation of the case. The trial will continue behind closed doors on Tuesday, as sexual offences cases in Finland are almost always heard without the public present.

The case is being led by special prosecutor Leena Koivuniemi, with regional prosecutors Ulla Veihtola and Juulianna Sirén also involved.

Defendant was previously convicted

In 2023, the Kanta-Häme District Court sentenced the defendant to three years in prison for aggravated sexual abuse of a child. At the time of that offence, he was 20 and had sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old male pupil. He had also sent the boy hundreds of sexually suggestive messages, images and videos of himself.

The man had worked as a substitute teacher at a comprehensive school in Kanta-Häme.

The investigation into the current case began after police seized his phone during the earlier investigation. Officers found tens of thousands of images and videos of children and young people depicting sexual activity.

The defendant had played floorball in Finland’s top F-liiga division. He had also coached junior players and taken part in junior summer camps. Yle said it was not aware of any of the alleged victims having participated in his junior coaching.