The man, who is in his 50s, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison, Norrköping District Court announced. He was also convicted of one count of sexual harassment.
The man denied the charges, but the district court found him guilty of seven counts of rape of a child. Evidence included audio recordings the girl made of the man, according to the court.
"It is aggravating that the man exploited the girl's trust in him, but there are not sufficient grounds to classify the rapes as aggravated," said Kajsa Malmström, a judge and the court's chairwoman, in a comment.
The district court said that the man did not use violence or threats in connection with the rapes.
Alarmed
The 17-year-old reported the abuse several times to social services in Sundsvall municipality, which had placed her with the man in Östergötland. The girl also told the school and the child and adolescent psychiatry department (BUP), which reported their concerns.
However, social services refused to move the girl and maintained that a relocation "was not an option", according to P4 Västernorrland.
Only after the 17-year-old recorded the man's sexual advances on her own initiative did social services take action, enabling the man to be arrested on suspicion of rape. By then, 51 days had passed since the girl first raised the alarm.
Reported to Ivo
Social services reported themselves to the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate (Ivo) after the incident. In its report, the municipality acknowledged several serious shortcomings in its handling of the case, including communication, information and procedures, according to P4 Västernorrland.
We need to develop our work on weighing information when we receive conflicting or different information from different parties and how we work with our risk assessments and reassess them when new information comes into the case, Johan Vikström, administrative director at Sundsvall Municipality, told the radio.
The case has received significant media attention since it was investigated by P4. Social services later placed the girl, against her will, in another part of the country. Shortly afterwards, she took her own life.
In an emergency or if you are having thoughts of suicide, always call 112.
Here is where you can turn if you are feeling unwell:
Mind.se.
Suicide Zero – suicidezero.se.
Spes – National Association for Suicide Prevention and Survivor Support. spes.se.
Bris – children's rights in society. bris.se.
Save the Children – raddabarnen.se. Also for parents.
Alcoholics Anonymous – aa.se.
On-call buddy – takes calls from children and young people up to the age of 25. jourhavandekompis.se.
On-call fellow human being – can be reached at night on 08–702 16 80.
Friends – friends.se.
1177 – healthcare advice and information about the nearest psychiatric emergency department. 1177.se
National mental health and suicide prevention helpline – available 24/7 at 90390.
