The trial documents were ordered to be kept secret until 2083.
Milka Krogerus,
Jaakko Palvaila
11:11•Updated 11:28
The hockey player was demoted by the Court of Appeal of Eastern Finland Severi Lahtinen rape sentence for two months.
The district court sentenced Lahtinen, 25, who played in JYP’s SM league team, to two years in prison last October. Lahtinen appealed against his sentence.
The Court of Appeal considered the district court’s sentence too harsh and reduced the sentence to one year and 10 months of unconditional imprisonment.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the district court’s view that Lahtinen took advantage of the victim’s helplessness and defenselessness. The victim, who was drunk, was asleep when the act began and only became aware during it.
The act took place in June 2022 in the apartment of the person concerned in Lahti.
After the rape conviction, JYP canceled the player’s contract, which was valid until spring 2025. After this, Lahtinen moved to HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas, who play in the Slovakian main league.
Lahtinen appealed to the publicity the case would receive
Lahtinen demanded that the court of appeal dismiss the charge, because according to him, the sexual intercourse had taken place voluntarily and at the initiative of the person concerned.
Lahtinen insisted that if the charge is not dismissed, the punishment will be reduced and it will be reduced to probation. Lahtinen justified this by saying that the publicity brought by the case has, among other things, weakened his career development and lowered his earnings.
According to the Court of Appeal, these factors had neither a reducing nor mitigating effect on the punishment.
In the opinion of the Court of Appeal, Lahtinen’s criminal case was not handled in the media in a way that was exceptional or out of proportion to the quality of the crime, and the coverage of the matter was not inappropriate.
The Court of Appeal also stated that the loss of a job and a decrease in the level of earnings is a usual consequence for a person working in a public profession who has committed a serious crime.
The trial documents were ordered to be kept secret until 2083.
The judgment is not yet final.