According to Aamulehti, Rönni feels that he cannot wait for the legal process, because the processing of the case took two years and nine months from the moment of the incident to the decision of the district court.
Ice hockey player Top Rönni is not going to appeal the rape sentence he received to the Court of Appeal, he says Morning paper.
In practice, this means that the former Tappara striker will be satisfied with the sentence given to him by the district court in March.
On March 12, 2024, the Helsinki District Court sentenced Rönni to a one-year suspended prison sentence for rape committed as a young person. The crime took place in Helsinki in 2021, when Rönni was a minor.
The court also obliged him to compensate the victim for the suffering caused by the rape for 2,500 euros and court costs.
Rönni announced his dissatisfaction with the district court’s verdict in March, which made it possible to file an appeal. The last possible day to appeal the verdict is today, Thursday, April 11.
Since Rönni is not going to appeal his sentence and the appeal period is about to expire, the sentence is getting the force of law.
Rönni does not want a long legal process
According to Aamulehti, Rönni feels that he cannot wait for the legal process, because the processing of the case took two years and nine months from the moment of the incident to the decision of the district court.
– The time was far too long and heavy for everyone involved. It is estimated that it would take another 1.5–2 years to get the case before the Court of Appeal. I can’t wait for this anymore and I want to look ahead with this solution, Rönni explains why he didn’t appeal.
He hopes that after serving his sentence, he can get a new chance to continue his life.
Rönni apologizes to the person concerned, and does not want to comment further on the case.
Rönni has played 64 men’s hockey league matches in his career. In the current season, he played 22 games in Tappara’s men’s team and 20 games in the under-20 team.
Tappara canceled the contract With Rönni after the verdict given by the district court. The NHL club Calgary Flames announced that they will waive Rönni’s player rights.
The Flames booked him in the second round of the 2022 draft.