Police believe dozens of Finns have sex with children in Thailand

Travel companies maintain watch on hotels

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Finnish police believe that the man recently arrested on suspicion of sexually molesting nearly 450 young boys in Thailand was not an isolated case.
      "My informed assessment is that a few dozen Finns travel to Thailand each year to take advantage of children", says Lars Henriksson of the National Bureau of Investigation.
     
The case, which came to light in the southeast of Finland (see article from 25.4.), could be the largest single sex crime to be prosecuted in Finland, when measured in terms of the number of victims.
      In a search of the home of the man, who was born in 1962, police found a diary where he had written entries concerning the sexual molestation of 445 Thai boys between 1989 and 2004.
      The suspect admitted to police that he had taken advantage of about 250 boys in Thailand. Most of the victims are believed to have been between the ages of 10 and 13.
      "The cases probably did not involve forcing children to have sex. Instead, they were linked with Thailand's child prostitution industry", Henriksson says.
      The police seized more than 100 video cassettes from the man, which contained scenes of him taking part in sex activities with the children.
      The man, an unmarried factory worker living in the Kouvola region, is not believed to have molested any children in Finland. Equally, he is not believed to have been regularly in contact with children.
     
The suspect was apprehended at Helsinki-Vantaa airport on January 16th this year. Police were alerted by a tipoff from Belgium. The suspect had downloaded child pornography online from a Belgian man, and he is believed to have spread the material in Finland.
      The case has already been submitted to prosecutors for consideration of criminal charges. However, the statute of limitations has run out on many of the alleged acts.
      Nevertheless, the head of the investigation, Mika Ihaksinen of the National Bureau of Investigation says that there is evidence that he took part in dozens of aggravated sexual assaults on children, and hence a conviction is thought likely.
      Police also believe that the suspect passed on material he downloaded from the Internet.
     
Another Finnish man is also suspected of having sex with children in Thailand. Thai police arrested a 30-year-old man in his hotel room at the tourist resort of Pattaya in early March.
      He was found with two boys, aged 11 and 14, in his bed. The man has been remanded in custody in Thailand.
      Henriksson believes that most foreign travel by Finnish paedophiles has Southeast Asia as its destination, and that Thailand is the most popular country. He also says that the risk of being caught has increased.
      Helena Molander , chairwoman of the Finnish organisation Children's Fundamental Rights, sees the risk of being caught as a deterrent.
      Molander also emphasises the importance of preventative work in the travel industry. "Employees can be trained to educate, and detect signs, and to intervene in situations."
     
Finnish tour operators are signatories to a UNICEF treaty aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and sex tourism. Part of the agreement is a clause in hotel contracts, under which the contracts are cancelled, if child sex is practiced in a hotel.
      Action against sex tourism also must be taken into consideration in the training of personnel.
      Tom Selänniemi, head of the research and development department of the tour operator Aurinkomatkat - Sun Tours, says that no hotel contracts have been cancelled for sex tourism, but that some suspicions have arisen.
      "In a couple of cases we have contacted the National Bureau of Investigation when a Finnish traveller has been suspected of sexual abuse of a child."


Previously in HS International Edition:
  YLE: Finnish man suspected of serial sexual abuse of more than 400 Thai boys (25.4.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat