No penalty for man who filmed naked children

Published: 3 Nov 09 08:17 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/23036/20091103/

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A 29-year-old counselor caught secretly filming naked children at a Swedish summer camp won’t be punished for his crimes.

The man was arrested in June 2007 after being discovered making recordings of children while they were taking saunas at a summer camp in the archipelago outside of Norrtälje, north of Stockholm, the Metro newspaper reports.

But just before prosecutors brought formal charges against the 29-year-old, he managed to slip out of the country and escape to Thailand.

Since then, the man has been hiding out in the Asian paradise, ignoring repeated summons and waiting until the statute of limitations for his crime expired.

And just a few hours after the former camp counselor could no longer be charged with a crime, prosecutors had no choice but to grant his request that they return the recording equipment and computer confiscated when he was arrested.

“Obviously, you can get upset over how easy someone can have criminal suspicions against them written off,” prosecutor Eva Thunegard told the newspaper.

The man was able to leave the country so easily in part because he had a protected identity due to having been the subject of earlier threats.

According to Metro, the man currently works as a school teacher in another country.

"It’s disgraceful that it’s so easy to avoid a trial and possible conviction,” a parent of one of the children filmed by the counselor told the newspaper.

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

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Your comments about this article:

10:02 November 3, 2009 by Harding00
The statute of limitations is that short, are you kidding me?
10:04 November 3, 2009 by jose_s
Yet another one to beat this joke of a system.... what a disgrace.
10:21 November 3, 2009 by Rick Methven
"According to Metro, the man currently works as a school teacher in another country"

Have the authorities in the country where he now works been told about this SOB
10:28 November 3, 2009 by dstergiou
Seriously, there are times that i really hate the Swedish "formality" and "by the book" processes

When he returns, he *may* or *may not* have an accident, that's all i am saying
11:25 November 3, 2009 by KamiZ
there's nothing wrong with by the book, but the book itself has to be written well. what kind of a penal code is this where a pervert can go scot free and easily escape to an "Asian paradise", where everyone knows what he'll be "teaching" at schools. at least the authorities in Thailand should be warned about him.
11:51 November 3, 2009 by Tennin
Sweden needs to do some serious rewriting of their laws. It's sick that they allow someone like him to go away freely.
12:11 November 3, 2009 by insect
dstergiou

Your statement has just made my day. Oh my goodness!
12:57 November 3, 2009 by RoyceD
Why couldnt Thailand expedite the a$$hole before Sweden's wet blanket of a criminal system could be kicked under the rug?
14:18 November 3, 2009 by pintoflex
I find it amazing how lightweight is the Swedish law when it comes to sex crimes against children (2 years jail time?!?!?).

It's as if there is this quiet tolerance when it comes to child pornography and child molestation.

It says a lot on a society when there are no sufficient laws to protect it's children.

Honestly, anything short of chemical castration wouldn't be sufficient enough as rehabilitation for child molesters proven again and again to fail miserably.
14:43 November 3, 2009 by Soft Boiled
I find this story very hard to believe, this man enjoyed camping so he obviously loves youth hostels or what do the swedes call them, ah yes prison. What an idiot he could have earned himself 3 weeks in a luxury cell by now 8o
15:02 November 3, 2009 by eZee.se
"Not only should the paedophile be executed, but all those who made excuses for him and helped him escape justice should be executed."

Thats a bit harsh....

now, castration with a rusty fork and i'll completely support you!

What is the "the statute of limitations" in this country? two f#$king months?
15:25 November 3, 2009 by Nemesis
@ eZee.se

A rusty fork. Good comprimise.

Seriously I have seen these f**k**s get of with this for years back in Ireland as well.

Jai does not work.
17:47 November 3, 2009 by mastersamuel
There is some totally absurd rule in Ireland whereby a prisoner can only be held in prison in Belfast for a maximum of two years for offences towards children which did not include actual bodily harm (not too sure on the exact formalities of the law). This, in accordance with the ability for any prisoner in the whole of Ireland to request a transfer to a Belfast prison, pretty much determines that anyone convicted on such charges smart enough to discover this can get off after two years (or possibly even shorter) if they really want to. Such action has resulted in an absurdly paradoxical suspicion towards every prisoner with a southern accent locked up in Belfast, or just released from a Belfast prison. Maybe send all these 2 year guys in Sweden up to a nice prison in Umeå and see how they get on upon their releases!
18:03 November 3, 2009 by Nemesis
@ mastersamuel

WRONG.
19:51 November 3, 2009 by izbz
In Swedan parking without paying and drunked driving is a more serious crime than filming children naked....Great place to stay, no wonder Saddam Hussein wanted to be in SWedan also. Maybe Bin Ladin should consider migrating to Swedan.
22:00 November 3, 2009 by MarkinBoston
This is what puzzles me: when someone leaves the country to evade prosecution, shouldn't the statute of limitations stop running? Statutes of limitations exist so that people will not be prosecuted long after they can assemble a proper defense. In this case, the suspect left the country of his own free will. The statute of limitations exists to serve justice, not to thwart it. This would be a very easy fix for the Swedish judicial system.
22:11 November 3, 2009 by mouseman2055
Let me get this straight: he films naked children, is able to flee to Thailand, out runs the statute of limitations, comes back, and then they have to give him back his equipment. Something is rotten in Denmark, er, Sweden.
22:56 November 3, 2009 by mkvgtired
This is a perfect example of why we, as Western nations, have to force an extradition policy on Thailand, and other nations that refuse to sign one. If they still refuse, we cut off ALL trade links with them (the EU, US, Canada, and Australia should band together on this). Trust me they are benefiting from trade with the West exponentially more then we are benefiting from trade with them. In Thailand you can get life in prison for marijuana possession, but child prostitution (many who have been illegally purchased as sex slaves) is mostly ignored. I would love to visit Thailand, but as long as they are so soft on child prostitution I will make no plans.
23:32 November 3, 2009 by powerofknowledge
NOOOO i cant belive!!!

are they kidding ???!

Did the police gave him a chochlate or money or even a kiss as compensation??!!
00:51 November 4, 2009 by wxman
Notice that no matter from whatever country they are escaping justice, they always go to Thailand? This guy would probably rate as a national hero there.
07:44 November 4, 2009 by geecee61
Circumstances should dictate that his statute of limitations become negate,this crime is serious enough to waver them,this guy is a predator and a risk to our children here...never let the scumbag back into the country...the police also have alot to answer for here too for not remanding him in custody in the first place.
13:44 November 4, 2009 by mastersamuel
@ Nemesis. What is wrong?
08:51 November 5, 2009 by karex
@mastersamuel

Quite often, people who have children tend to react quite strongly to deplorable acts such as these.

I could seriously not gauge what my reaction would be if my child were victim of one of these predators. I expect that it would not be pretty.
10:16 November 5, 2009 by shani_g
@randomguy

You are obviously eneducated, immature and insensitive- how can you make a joke about this? Shame on you!
12:28 November 5, 2009 by Rick Methven
From the BBC

A Saudi court has ruled that a man convicted of raping five children will be beheaded and crucified.

Muhammad Basheer al-Ramaly, 22, left his youngest victim, aged three, stranded in the desert to die.

He was caught when he tried to abduct another boy by offering him a lift home from school in his car.
22:26 November 5, 2009 by Canada_Girl
Rick Methven,

I wouldn't be so quick to hold up Saudi law as a model. Those people chop your hands off for stealing and stone women to death for showing an ankle. Hell, they'll kill a woman in that country for about any minor 'offence.' Want to get an education, chicky? Too bad, so sad... rock to the head.

The pedophile should be punished, but it should be done in a 'civilized' manner.
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