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 said the evidence against him was overwhelming. This included audio recordings that the girl herself made of the man, according to the court.
However, the court said there were insufficient grounds to classify the rapes as aggravated. This was because he did not use violence or threats in connection with the rapes.
Prosecutor Karin Evlinger had sought a 12-year prison sentence for seven counts of aggravated rape, arguing that the crimes were systematic and took place over a period of time.
"I am still satisfied that the district court found him guilty on all counts. They made a different assessment of the classification, which reduced the sentence," says Evlinger, who has not decided whether to appeal.
Alarmed
The girl 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 service (BUP), which reported what they had heard. However, social services refused to move the girl, saying that relocation "was not an option", according to P4 Västernorrland.
Social services took action only after the 17-year-old recorded the man's sexual advances, in connection with his arrest on suspicion of rape. By then, 51 days had passed since the first warning.
Reported to Ivo
Social services reported themselves to the Swedish Health and Care Inspectorate (Ivo) after the incident. 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 on how we conduct and reassess our risk assessments when new information comes into the case, Johan Vikström, administrative director at Sundsvall Municipality, told the radio.
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 suicidal thoughts, 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.
What do you think?