Paedophile sees jail term cut to five years
A 62-year-old man found guilty of sex crimes perpetrated against eight girls over a period of several years had his sentence reduced on Wednesday from seven to five years.
The case against the man began to unfold when police looked into allegations that he had treated one of the girls to alcohol. His victims ranged in age from 11 to 16 at the time of the abuses.
The man was convicted in May in a district court in southern Sweden on several counts of rape, child rape, sexual exploitation of a minor, child sex abuse and sexual harassment.
But the Court of Appeal for Skåne and Blekinge on Wednesday cleared the 62-year-old on one count of sexual harassment and two counts of child rape, cutting his sentence to five years.
In May, the district court found the 62-year-old guilty of nine instances of child rape. But the appeals court ruled that the prosecutor had in fact only proved beyond doubt that the man had perpetrated six cases of child rape.
In the case of the charge of sexual harassment, it was a "single incident that lasted a short time," the court wrote in its verdict. The court added that the man in this case had voluntarily broken off his advances, which had not been of a particularly intimate nature.
The appeals court found the 62-year-old guilty of rape on two counts, six counts of child rape, as well as seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, child sex abuse and sexual harassment. The court also reduced the level of compensation payable to the victims from 455,000 to 266,000 kronor ($37,000).
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The case against the man began to unfold when police looked into allegations that he had treated one of the girls to alcohol. His victims ranged in age from 11 to 16 at the time of the abuses.
The man was convicted in May in a district court in southern Sweden on several counts of rape, child rape, sexual exploitation of a minor, child sex abuse and sexual harassment.
But the Court of Appeal for Skåne and Blekinge on Wednesday cleared the 62-year-old on one count of sexual harassment and two counts of child rape, cutting his sentence to five years.
In May, the district court found the 62-year-old guilty of nine instances of child rape. But the appeals court ruled that the prosecutor had in fact only proved beyond doubt that the man had perpetrated six cases of child rape.
In the case of the charge of sexual harassment, it was a "single incident that lasted a short time," the court wrote in its verdict. The court added that the man in this case had voluntarily broken off his advances, which had not been of a particularly intimate nature.
The appeals court found the 62-year-old guilty of rape on two counts, six counts of child rape, as well as seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, child sex abuse and sexual harassment. The court also reduced the level of compensation payable to the victims from 455,000 to 266,000 kronor ($37,000).
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