Detective Chief Inspector Lars Henriksson of the National Bureau of Investigation, Finland’s central criminal police, told that in the course of a raid on the man’s home a diary had been discovered that chronicled all the pedophile liaisons that the man had had in previous visits to Thailand.
The entries began from 1989 and detailed 25 visits to the country and 445 separate cases. The boys in question were predominantly 12 to 13 years old. Police also took away a quantity of pornographic material that the man had gathered during his trips.
Police arrested him on January 16 at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport on his return trip from Thailand. The NBI investigators traced him through information exchanging provided by international colleagues. Lars Henriksson also told the Finnish News Agency STT that the matter came to light when a pedophile network’s has been exposed in Belgium.
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”, says Lars Henriksson.
The preliminary case against the man is being examined by the Office of the State Prosecutor-General, more specifically by the Office’s specialist prosecutor on offences against women and minors, Leading District Prosecutor Hannele Selin-Hakala.
The case will presumably come to trial in the Kouvola District Court when the prosecutor has had time to peruse all the evidence. Police consider the diary found in the man’s house weighty evidence.
There is a great deal of additional recorded material of the alleged pedophile’s activities. However, the police believes that the man is not part of Finnish or international ring but individual act. Aggravated sexual abuse of a minor carries a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment in Finnland.
Later in March, Thailand Tourist Polices has arrested 29 years old Finnish man for molesting two Thai boys. Source informed the police after seeing the man entertained 2 underage boys in his hotel room.
The police rushed, with a warrant, to the New BR Inn located on Pattaya soi 12 and found Mikka Pitkanen together with 2 Thai boys age 14 and 11. All has been taken to the station for further questioning.
Both boys revealed that they willingly stayed with the man during the past 3 days. They claimed that they had not engaged in penetrative sex, instead, performed masturbation and oral sex for a reward of 300 baht (US$8) each time.
Pitkanen has been remaining in custody and will face a court charge on engaging sexual activities with minors.
Sexual activity with a young boy is widely spread in Thailand. Police believe dozens of Finns have sex with children.
“My informed assessment is that a few dozen Finns travel to Thailand each year to take advantage on children”, says Henriksson.
Thailand seems to be the destination for pedophiles’ networking. Helena Molander, chairwoman of the Finnish Children’s Fundamental Rights organization stated that employees in the travel industry could be trained to detect and take charge when the situation arises.
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.
“What we’ve done was that we have contacted the National Bureau of Investigation when a Finnish traveler suspected of child molesting. So far, none of hotel contracts are cancelled for sex tourism yet,” says Tom Selänniemi, head of the research and development department of Aurinkomatkat – Sun Tours.
