A former Danish Member of Parliament has received a four-month prison sentence for the possession of thousands of files depicting abuse.
According to various media reports on Monday, a former Danish parliamentary minister has been handed a four-month jail term for possessing child pornography.
Henrik Sass Larsen, formerly a prominent Social Democrat and trade minister, confessed to storing over 6,000 photographs and 2,000 videos of child sexual abuse on his computer.
Despite this, he denied the accusations, maintaining that the files were related to his quest for evidence of his own childhood abuse. A unanimous jury at the Copenhagen City Court dismissed this explanation, rendering its verdict on Monday.
Authorities discovered the material while searching his electronic devices between 2023 and 2024. The case, brought to public attention in March 2024, resulted in his expulsion from the governing Social Democratic Party.
The 59-year-old, who spent part of his early life in foster care prior to adoption, stated in court that he had received a video link in 2018 seemingly depicting him being abused as a toddler. He informed the judges that this file, along with another, disappeared after being viewed, and explained he had then searched online to find the perpetrators, regretting not having contacted the police.
Prosecutor Maria Cingari expressed her “satisfaction” with the verdict but noted the sadness that an individual who had overcome a challenging upbringing found himself in such a situation. She emphasized that possessing child pornography could never be justified.
Sass Larsen was acquitted by the court on a distinct charge concerning the ownership of a child sex doll, which he claimed was a complimentary gift from an online purchase. His legal counsel stated that an appeal remains under consideration. Danish law grants the defense a 14-day period to file an appeal.
Danish law stipulates that the possession of materials depicting child abuse is punishable irrespective of intent, carrying a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
The judgment has incited both political and public disapproval. Betina Kastbjerg, the spokesperson for the Danish Democrats party, contended that the four-month sentence is excessively lenient, whereas protesters assembled outside the courthouse demanded more stringent punishments.