Prosecutors Moa Grahn and Anna Väppling are seeking eight years imprisonment for a man suspected in one of Norrbotten's largest sexual offense cases against children, following the trial's conclusion at Luleå District Court. The indictment includes 38 cases of rape against children, 36 cases of child pornography offenses, 6 cases of sexual assault against children, and 15 cases of exploitation of children for sexual posing. 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, and evidence includes chats where the man wrote about sex to a 13-year-old girl. According to Väppling, the man has in a ruthless way exploited them one after another when he has had needs. The evidence presented includes interrogations, witness statements, photographs, and chat conversations.
Defense attorney Rune Bäcklund argues for mitigating circumstances, including that the man lost his job and has been in custody for a long time. Bäcklund stated that the man should at most be sentenced to four years and six months.
The suspect described waking up every day and regretting what he has done. The man also stated he was bullied during school and never had a real relationship, and does not excuse what happened. Furthermore, the man described regretting his actions and not realizing the effects, entering into sexual matters due to loneliness. However, the accused man denies the allegations of rape against a child, and regarding the other charges, he neither admits nor denies the crimes.
He has in a ruthless way exploited them one after another when he has had needs.
The trial was held behind closed doors to protect the plaintiffs, but the public was admitted when prosecutors began closing arguments. The man from Luleå, wearing a black hoodie and black sweatpants, fiddled with a beaded bracelet during the trial.
The man is also charged with assault, aggravated unlawful threats, and aggravated interference in a legal proceeding, allegedly stabbing, choking, and threatening to kill another man in Östersund municipality in February this year. He is charged with threatening another man at the same time.
In a separate case, a Sweden Democrat municipal politician in Skaraborg is charged with several sex crimes, including three rapes and other sexual offenses, allegedly committed in 2024 and 2025. The crimes allegedly occurred during 2024 and 2025, with the women in a dependent position to the politician. The politician was detained in December last year and is suspended from the party. Ludvig Grufman, press secretary for the Sweden Democrats, stated in an email that the district chairman contacted the party's membership committee, which suspended the member over the weekend. The man denies the crimes and has been in custody since December, having denied the crimes at that time.
Elsewhere in Sweden, emergency services responded to an explosion at Geneta center in Södertälje, with reports of a bang and smoke in the area. Police are conducting an ongoing operation at Geneta center due to an explosion, with no reports of injuries and no danger to the public, but they are searching for a perpetrator. A preliminary investigation into gross public destruction has been initiated. Additionally, a person has been arrested on suspicion of preparation for terrorist offenses, participation in a terrorist organization, gross crime, and public incitement to terrorism, with the investigation led by Säpo. A person is requested to be detained for preparation for terrorist offenses and participation in a terrorist organization in Sweden, with a detention hearing scheduled for Monday.
I was bullied during school and never had a real relationship, and I do not excuse what happened.
Internationally, Bradley Dilsworth, 68, is accused of grooming and abusing young girls as young as seven from 2002-2010, including offering them to his sons, and denies 27 charges including rape and sexual assault. Dilsworth allegedly arranged for his son Bradley Quinton to rape one girl and attempted to arrange for another son Daniel to have sex with her, but Daniel refused and will testify against his father. Police seized Dilsworth's computer containing 16,000 images of another girl, over 200 taken when she was 16. In Brazil, a ten-year-old girl gave birth after being raped by her stepfather, who is under investigation for raping her and her eight-year-old sister, with the mother arrested for omission. The couple fled to hide the pregnancy, and the children are now in their aunt's care, with both suspects in custody.
In Norway, 21 men have been sentenced to preventive detention twice after being released, indicating a high risk of reoffending. Pål Olsen, one of the men, was convicted of serious crimes including gross rape and violence after release from a previous preventive detention sentence. At least 28 victims, including women, men, and children, were harmed in cases involving 15 of these men, with offenses including violence, threats, attempted murder, and rapes.
Ongoing trials in Norway include Abdul Haq, 42, who is on trial for sexually assaulting a child under 13 at his home where he conducted Quran lessons, denying all charges. The alleged abuse occurred multiple times between 2017 and 2020 in Haq's home while family was absent, with security cameras installed but not recording. Haq's devices were confiscated but contained no indecent images, and he claims the child may have been upset after he raised his voice. Another man from Sunnmøre is charged with multiple serious offenses against several victims, including gross rape of a child under 14, with the prosecution seeking preventive detention. He is also charged with sexual acts with children, sharing indecent material, and using messaging services to contact victims, with a history of similar convictions. He was released in spring 2025 and soon after charged with new sexual offenses, having been in custody since summer 2025. He was first convicted in 2019 and again in 2023 for sexual offenses against children, with the case involving evidence from NCMEC and Kripos.
Preventive detention requests in Norway include prosecutor Inger Myklebust requesting a man in his 40s be sentenced to 10.5 years of preventive detention with a minimum of 7 years, due to high risk of reoffending against children. The man denies all charges and has a history of similar convictions, with the prosecution seeking to restrict his use of social media platforms. A man arrested for possessing child abuse material is now also suspected of rape of children under 14, involving online offenses and multiple victims. He is a local politician from Follo, has been in custody since January, and does not wish to comment on the charges. In another case, a child under 16 was interviewed in court regarding rape allegations against a man, with payments for sexual abuse involving drugs and snus mentioned. The man pleaded not guilty to all charges, including gross rape of a child under 14, and is in custody, with the prosecution considering preventive detention and social media restrictions.
I regret my actions and did not realize the effects, entering into sexual matters due to loneliness.
Historically, Erik Andersen, also known as 'The Pocket Man', is a convicted Norwegian child molester from Bergen. Erik Andersen was arrested in 2008, accused of molesting hundreds of children since 1976, and was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to preventive detention with a minimum term of 9 years, with the possibility of extension. 'The Pocket Man' was a name given by Norwegian police and media to an unidentified child molester active since 1976, accused of committing sex crimes against minors throughout Southern Norway. The last known incident of 'The Pocket Man' took place in Skjolden in Luster Municipality on 14 June 2006, and police have registered about 160 cases involving him. The police allege that several occurrences involving 'The Pocket Man' have not been reported.
In August 2009, the suspect was formally indicted and charged with 60 cases, including two cases of rape of small boys, but cannot be prosecuted for cases that are older than ten years. The suspect has admitted to involvement in 20 of the cases, and his identity was unknown to police until they identified a man from Bergen, arrested and indicted on 11 January 2008. The suspect remained anonymous until identified as Erik Andersen by Verdens Gang on 22 August 2009, and was also identified by Bergens Tidende on 23 August 2009. Norwegian media had previously refrained from using his name and picture as requested by police, to not harm the investigation, though legally, media are allowed to identify suspects in criminal cases. According to Bernt Olufsen, Verdens Gang chose to identify Erik Andersen because of the scale and seriousness of the crimes, meaning the public had a right to know.
'The Pocket Man' was also known as 'The Bandage Man' during investigations, first noted in a case from Bergen in 1980, and Erik Andersen was born in Hylkje in Åsane Municipality, Norway (now part of Bergen Municipality). Erik Andersen ran his own garage called 'Erik Andersen Lakkeringsverksted', has been active in motor sports for several years, particularly as a trainer in Bergen Trial Team, and sometimes spelled his name as Eric Andersen, despite his legal name being Erik Andersen. He was subsequently identified by Dagbladet, Nettavisen, TV 2, Dagsavisen, Bergensavisen, and Aftenposten.
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. One charge of aggravated sexual abuse involved a child born in 2017, who was indecently assaulted and photographed by the defendant. The prosecutor had demanded that the charge of aggravated rape of this child be added to the case, but the court dismissed this due to a lack of evidence. The man used social media channels, including Instagram, to 'groom' children aged between nine and 13, and once he initiated contact with victims, he turned the conversation to matters of a sexual nature, such as requesting them to send nude photos. The defendant sent photos of his own genitals to a number of the victims, and the crimes were brought to the attention of Finnish police through tip-offs from both domestic and international sources. The court ordered the defendant to pay a total of 35,000 euros compensation to the victims, and the decision of the district court is not final, leaving the man an opportunity to appeal.