The man, who is in his 40s, has been held in custody for almost two years on suspicion of a number of crimes against children online, including sexual offenses, gross exploitation of children for sexual posing and rape. All crimes must have occurred online.

The preliminary investigation into the suspected online pedophile has been ongoing since the beginning of January 2018 and the hearing in the district court is expected to last several months, according to the prosecutor.

Made contact via games

The man should have come into contact with his victims mainly through the horse game Star stable, which is popular with children. There he should have contacted the children in the chat function.

The suspected man has three times previously been convicted of similar crime. Most recently, 2017 was when he was sentenced to two years and four months in prison. In that case, there were 25 offended girls.

More than 80 children, all under the age of 15, are the prosecutors in the prosecution brought on Thursday. The majority should be girls.

''Not surprised''

ECPAT Sweden is a child rights organization that works against the sexual exploitation of children. Secretary-General Anna Karin Hildingson Boqvist is not surprised that this happens.

- I'm not surprised. Perpetrators are where children are. This time it was in Star Stable, next time it's somewhere else.

But banning children from playing such games does not think Anna Karin Hildingson Boqvist is the solution to protect them.

- Then your child will not tell you about something happening. Instead, help the child manage the web safely and talk about what they can do if something actually happens.

According to the man's lawyer, he denies all charges.