In July, a 28-year-old student assistant in Lycksele was sentenced to twelve years in prison for, among other things, gross rape against children on 41 occasions over eleven years. Among other things, the children were offered benefits in games in exchange for sexual acts.
The defense agreed with the judgment in some parts but questioned some of the plaintiffs' stories.
- We have not claimed that anyone is lying, but both children and adults can be affected and remember incorrectly. Then we would like the court to consider it and analyze the information carefully, defense lawyer Mikael Stenman tells SVT.
"Has some specialist knowledge"The student assistant appealed against the verdict and on Wednesday the proceedings began in the High Court. This time, the defense invokes a psychologist who specializes in child testimony.
- She has some specialist knowledge and has written a dissertation on how to evaluate statements from children. She has tools and ways to analyze the testimonies in a scientific way and I want to highlight it and maybe get an in-depth analysis of the information provided in the parts that we have appealed, says Stenman.
The defense claims the same as in the district court, that is, the penalty is six to eight years in prison. Negotiations are expected to continue until October 2.