The Southern Ostrobothnia District Court has convicted four men of aggravated sexual offenses against children and their involvement in a large-scale international ring of child sexual abuse.
Visa Matti Marttila, a former church councilor who was deemed by the court to be the leader of the ring, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in prison.
The charges included two counts of child abuse, assault, and possession and distribution of child pornography.
The court heard that Marttila is a former member of the council of the Church of Southern Ostrobothnia and that he has previously worked in the parish group responsible for the activities of children and young people. He also worked as an entrepreneur in Ostrobothnia and Lapland, for example in the tourism industry.
The court will pass judgment on the three other defendants
Another man who participated in the pedophile ring was sentenced to four years in prison, while another received a suspended sentence of one year and two months. A fourth man who participated in sex offenses received a three-month suspended sentence.
The victims were all boys aged 5 to 15 at the time of the crimes. The crimes were committed between 2004 and 2014.
District Attorney Jaana Nyrhinen said the prosecutor was considering appealing the sentences. The prosecutor had asked for Marttila to be sentenced to ten years in prison. For the second suspect, the prosecutor had requested a five-year sentence.
The suspects acted as part of a wider international pedophile ring that exploited children in nearly 20 countries, describing their crimes and sharing material with each other.
Source: The Nordic Page