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Porn behind 11-year-old girl's abuse claims: court

TT/The Local/rm
TT/The Local/rm - [email protected]
Porn behind 11-year-old girl's abuse claims: court

After three days of proceedings, the district court in Jönköping, in southern Sweden, on Friday freed a mother and father suspected of raping their three daughters.

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According to the court, the testimony offered by their 11-year-old daughter could have been based on something she had seen in a porn film.

”Completely out of the question,” said prosecutor Gunnar Brodin to news agency TT.

Both parents had denied the allegations, which were to a large extent based on the testimony of the three little girls, aged 5, 8 and 11.

People close to the children became suspicious when the children started to act in a weird manner. The girls were acting oversexed, which is a normal reaction to sexual abuse.

During a search of the family's home, police uncovered a number of pornographic movies.

According to counsellor Tobias Sunnerfjell at Save the Children, small children who are subjected to sex abuse don't realise that what is happening to them is wrong.

”Children often don't realise until much later,” Sunnerfjell told TT.

But this realisation could take many years. Sometimes not until they are about to make their sexual début themselves, according to Sunnerfjell.

What is legally viewed as child rape also covers other sexual actions such as oral sex or masturbation. And there doesn't seem to be any limits to what adults can think of.

”I have stopped being surprised,” said prosecutor Brodin sadly.

For the children there is also the added painful separation from the parents as a result of sexual abuse. But often there is no other alternative.

”Protecting the children must be the first priority,” Sunnerfjell told TT.

The mother and father of the three little girls were freed as the court ruled that despite the girls' testimonies, there was not enough evidence to suggest the parents had committed a crime.

Exactly what the parents were suspected of having done to the three girls remains confidential and court proceedings were held behind closed doors.

The complete text of the court's ruling is set to be released on Friday.

Prosecutor Brodin has vowed to appeal the ruling.

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