Convicted of sexual assault – without touching

Convicted of sexual assault without touching

Updated 02.32 | Published 02.22

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full screen The Supreme Court sentences the man to eight months in prison. Archive image. Photo: Magnus Andersson/TT

A man who placed his genitals near a woman’s mouth while she was sleeping is convicted of sexual assault.

The Supreme Court rules that no touch is required to be convicted.

“An act can constitute a sexual act even though there was no direct physical contact,” writes HD in a press release. On the other hand, it is required that the act has a “tangible sexual character” and that it violates the victim’s sexual integrity.

According to the court, it is sufficient that the act is of such a nature that it “typically” aims to arouse or satisfy the sexual drive of one party.

When assessing whether the act was aimed at clearly violating the victim’s sexual integrity, “an objective assessment of the actual circumstances” must be made, the court writes in the guiding ruling.

The man, who is in his 70s, is also convicted of offensive photography and two counts of minor drug offences. He is sentenced to eight months in prison and must also pay just over SEK 50,000 in damages to the woman.

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