It was in connection with a police raid on Tuesday that the Finnish cultural personality was arrested. Two days later, the man was arrested by the Helsinki District Court on suspicion of serious human trafficking, reports several Finnish media.
A 36-year-old woman was also arrested and then detained on the same grounds as the man.
The crime must have taken place between January 2016 and September 2019.
- The Helsinki Police Department is investigating a case of serious human trafficking and abuse. Two people have been arrested. The preliminary investigation was started last weekend and is at an early stage. I cannot comment more without jeopardizing the investigation, says Crime Commissioner of Crime Saara Asmundela, to Yle.
"Manipulated and controlled"On Sunday, several serious allegations were made against the man, who is a prominent figure in Finnish cultural life, in a review conducted by the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper. The magazine has interviewed 18 anonymous women and girls who tell how the man "attracted them to his home, made the approach, manipulated and controlled them". Around the man was some kind of cult, according to the women.
According to the newspaper, several of the women the newspaper has been in contact with are afraid of the man, and some of them did not dare to interview. The newspaper has also sought the man who declined to give an interview.
The man has previously been fined for luring girls on a theater trip, writes Yle.
Prosecution should be filed by February 6, 2020.