Prosecutors Moa Grahn and Anna Väppling have requested eight years in prison for a man suspected in one of Norrbotten's largest child sexual abuse cases, following the trial's conclusion at Luleå District Court. The trial was held behind closed doors to protect the plaintiffs, but the public was allowed in when prosecutors began their closing arguments. The District Court will announce the verdict on April 15.
Prosecutor Anna Väppling stated that the man repeatedly pestered the plaintiffs for pictures and videos, exploiting the victims one after another in a ruthless way when he had needs. Evidence includes chats where the man wrote about sex in exchange for alcohol to a 13-year-old girl, along with interrogations, witness statements, photographs, and chat conversations. The indictment includes 38 counts of rape of a child, 36 counts of child pornography offenses, 6 counts of sexual abuse of a child, and 15 counts of exploitation of a child for sexual posing. The accused man is suspected of having a sexual relationship with a girl under 15 during 2021–2022, charged with rape of a child.
I wake up every day regretting what I have done.
Defense lawyer Rune Bäcklund argues there are several mitigating circumstances, including that the man lost his job and has been in custody for a long time, and says the man should at most be sentenced to four years and six months. The man from Luleå is sitting in the defendant's seat, wearing a black hoodie and black sweatpants, and fiddling with a beaded bracelet. The accused man denies the allegations of rape of a child, and regarding the other charges, the man neither admits nor denies the crimes.
The man is also charged with assault, aggravated unlawful threats, and aggravated interference in a legal proceeding, allegedly involving knifing, strangling, and threatening to kill another man in Östersund municipality in February this year. He is also charged with threatening another man at the same time.
I was bullied during school and never had a real romantic relationship.
In a separate case, a Sweden Democrat municipal politician in Skaraborg is charged with several sex crimes, including three rapes and other sexual offenses. According to the indictment, the women were in a dependent position relative to the politician. The politician was detained in December last year and is suspended from the party, with Ludvig Grufman, press secretary for the Sweden Democrats, writing in an email to SVT in December that the district chairman contacted the party's membership committee, which suspended the member over the weekend. The man has been in custody since December and denied the crimes at that time, and he continues to deny the crimes.
Meanwhile, Säpo conducted an operation in western Sweden and arrested a person who is now detained on suspicion of preparation for terrorist offenses, participation in a terrorist organization, gross crime, and public incitement to terrorism, with Säpo leading the investigation. A person is requested to be detained for preparation for terrorist offenses and participation in a terrorist organization in Sweden, with a detention hearing on Monday, after being arrested on April 10. Details of the suspected crimes are not disclosed, and Säpo does not currently assess the case as linked to any other ongoing matter.
I do not try to excuse what happened, expect a punishment, and hope it helps me improve.
In other police incidents, ambulance and rescue services were called to Geneta center in Södertälje after an explosion alarm, with reports of a bang and smoke in the area. Police say there is no danger to the public but are searching for a perpetrator, and an investigation into gross public destruction has been initiated, with no information indicating anyone was injured.
On financial markets, the Stockholm stock exchange fell at opening after peace negotiations in Iran failed, with OMXSPI down 1.0% and OMXS30 down 1.1%. Oil prices rose sharply by almost 8% to over $100 per barrel.
I regret my actions and did not realize the effects of my actions.
In the UK, Bradley Dilsworth, 68, is accused of grooming and abusing young girls as young as seven from 2002-2010, including rape and sexual assault, and offering victims to his sons. Dilsworth denies all 27 charges against him, including 17 of rape, and was arrested on November 21, 2024, with police seizing his computer containing 16,000 images of a girl, over 200 taken when she was 16.
In Norway, 21 men have been sentenced to preventive detention ('forvaring') twice after release, indicating a high risk of reoffending, with Pål Olsen, one of the men, convicted of gross rape and other crimes after release from a previous detention sentence in 2019. At least 28 people, including women, men, and children, were victims in the cases of 15 of these men, suffering violence, threats, attempted murder, and rapes, and no women have been sentenced to preventive detention twice.
I got into sexual activities because I was lonely, felt different, and wanted a relationship like others had.
In another Norwegian case, Abdul Haq, 42, is on trial for sexually assaulting a child under 13 at his home, where he conducted Quran lessons in a garden shed, between 2017 and 2020. Haq denies all charges, including sexual assault and assault by penetration, with the alleged abuse occurring on 10 or more occasions when family members were absent, and security cameras installed but not recording at the time.
Multiple Norwegian cases involve preventive detention requests for sex crimes against children. A man from Sunnmøre is charged with multiple serious crimes, including gross rape of a child under 14, and the prosecution seeks preventive detention, with the man having prior convictions in similar cases, most recently in autumn 2024. A man from Gudbrandsdalen is on trial for sexual offenses against four minors, admitting guilt for possessing over 70,000 images and 5,800 videos of child abuse, with the prosecution arguing the case is very serious and may seek preventive detention due to risk of repetition.
Olsen denies guilt and has appealed to the Supreme Court.
In a related arrest, a man detained in January for possessing child abuse material is now also suspected of rape of children under 14, with offenses occurring online. The suspect is a local politician from the Follo area, detained since arrest, with custody extended to April 23.
In Brazil, a 10-year-old girl gave birth after being raped by her stepfather, who is under investigation for raping her and her 8-year-old sister. The stepfather and mother were arrested on April 7, with the mother accused of knowing about the abuse and trying to hide it.
Erik Andersen, also known as 'The Pocket Man,' is a convicted Norwegian child molester from Bergen, arrested in 2008 and accused of molesting hundreds of children since 1976. He was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to preventive detention with a minimum term of 9 years, with the possibility of extension. The police have registered about 160 cases involving 'The Pocket Man,' alleging that several occurrences have not been reported.
In Finland, a district court in south west Finland found a man guilty on multiple charges of sexual offenses against children and sentenced him to five years in prison. The defendant faced charges including aggravated sexual abuse of a child, aggravated child rape, and the possession and dissemination of indecent images of children. The man used social media channels, including Instagram, to 'groom' children aged between nine and 13, turning conversations to matters of a sexual nature, such as requesting victims to send nude photos.