At the time, the victim was 13 years old and the perpetrator was 16. They both attended the same school.

Open image viewer

The Lapland District Court handed a 22-month suspended prison sentence to a 16-year-old boy found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in a school bathroom.

The court also ordered the defendant to perform 60 hours of community service, pay compensation of 21,000 euros to the victim and cover all legal costs.

Compensation was awarded to the victim for the pain, suffering and mental anguish caused by the rape and sexual assault, the court noted.

In its ruling, the court said that in this case no custodial sentence was imposed because the accused is a minor (between 15 and 17 years old) and had no previous criminal convictions.

The court said that in the case no compelling legal reasons were found to impose a custodial sentence.

However, during the trial, the court heard that the perpetrator had violently assaulted the victim, including grabbing the child by the neck. The victim also suffered very serious psychological consequences as a result of the attack.

The accused had denied all charges.

Attacked during the school day

The attack took place in a bathroom at the Ainiovaara school, in the town of Ylitornio, on the border between Finland and Sweden, in the middle of the school day last December.

At the time, the victim was 13 years old and the perpetrator was 16, and both were students at the school.

Finland passed a new sexual crimes law early last year, which states that sexual relations with a person under 16 constitutes rape of a child.

The incident came to light when the victim told school staff.

According to Yle’s information, the accused in the case was of foreign origin and will not return to school. The accused will also not be publicly identified because he was a minor at the time the crime was committed.