Swedish LGBT activist convicted of raping four migrants
Apr 23, 2021
Stockholm [Sweden], April 23 : A former Swedish LGBT activist has been convicted of raping four migrants during his work on Thursday.
The 56-year-old man was a member of Sweden's largest LGBT organisation, RFSL, where he allegedly helped migrants obtain asylum on the grounds of their sexual orientation, reported euronews.
In April 2020, he was accused of raping four men and exposing two of them to sexual harassment in his office.
He was found guilty by the Stockholm District Court and sentenced to four years in prison. He will also have to pay damages to the victims, reported euronews.
The crimes all took place between October 2018 and October 2019, the court said.
"The victims had all turned to the migrant consultant with the hope of getting help in their asylum processes," the court said in a statement.
"They have either been asylum seekers, undocumented, awaiting execution, or worked under a temporary work permit."
The court found that the migrants were in a "particularly vulnerable situation" when they approached the consultant, who had abused his power. Police are now investigating six more potential victims.
RFSL said their Stockholm branch had immediately launched an internal investigation when the first allegations of sexual assault were made against their former employee.
But the organisation acknowledged that the initial probe had been "insufficient" and had not provided enough evidence to take action, reported euronews.
