Western Uusimaa: police investigate sex crime against child – public urged to refrain
Western Uusimaa police are investigating suspected possession of child sexual abuse material. The public is asked not to spread speculation.
Western Uusimaa police investigate child sexual abuse material – victim's identity being established
Google News FI — Crime (fi) reported that Western Uusimaa police are investigating suspected possession of an image depicting a child in a sexual manner.
Material was passed to police in August, on the basis of which one man possibly connected to the matter was identified. The man's identity is known to police, and he has been questioned.
According to police, material possibly connected to the case has been circulated on social media.
— Detailed investigation of what occurred is ongoing, and we are currently working to establish the victim's identity. Sexual crimes against children are confidential under the Publicity Act, which is why we cannot disclose the details currently known to police in greater detail, says crime commissioner Maria Hietajärvi in a statement.
Police remind that possession or distribution of material depicting a child in a sexual manner is a crime — even when the person is not connected to the original events. By passing the image on, one commits an offence.
— We hope that investigation of criminal suspicions of this type and in general the verification of facts are left to the authorities, and that speculation about them is not spread, Hietajärvi emphasises.
Police clarify the key points of legislation in their statement. Although the age of sexual autonomy is 16 years, under-18s are considered under the law to be children vulnerable to adult influence. In certain crimes — such as offering compensation for sexual acts to a young person or in situations where the adult is the child's parent or otherwise in a position of trust — the age limit has been set at the age of majority.
In practice, any sexually-tinged communication conducted by an adult with anyone under 16 is criminal, whether by message or image. The child's or young person's initiative or consent is irrelevant — responsibility always lies with the adult.
Any sexually-tinged image or video material depicting someone under 18 is child sexual abuse material within the meaning of the Criminal Law. Its possession and distribution is prohibited, even if the material was obtained from the child with consent or captured by the child themselves.
Source: Google News FI — Crime (fi)