Gustav Hemming, former regional politician and leading figure for the Center Party in the Stockholm Region, was convicted on Wednesday by the Attunda District Court for sexual harassment after masturbating in front of a 13-year-old boy.
The district court established that the crime had a clear sexual motive and violated the child’s sexual integrity. Despite this, Hemming was sentenced to probation, thus avoiding prison time.
The incident occurred on the Roslagsbanan commuter train in August last year, and the 52-year-old politician has admitted to the act. However, in police interviews, he claimed that the act was not criminal, arguing that he had perceived a sexual connection and that he did not understand that the boy was so young.
– I was looking around a bit and I perceived some kind of contact there that explains why, well, I perceived a kind of mutuality that can be sexually arousing in an anonymous environment, Hemming said during questioning and continued:
– From my perspective, it was a derailed sexualized flirtation.
The court dismissed this defense and determined that Hemming should have realized that the victim was a child.
“According to the district court, the politician must have understood that the victim was under 15 years of age, and since the act had a clear sexual nature and was intended to violate the victim’s sexual integrity, he is convicted of sexual harassment of a minor”, the court states.
To receive €1.1 million from taxpayers
The case became known after the TV program “Efterlyst” (Sweden’s equivalent of “America’s Most Wanted”) showed images of a man touching himself, both inside and outside his clothes, on Stockholm public transport.
A party colleague recognized Hemming and alerted the Center Party, which in turn filed a police report. The Center Party official resigned from his position this winter and was charged in May.
The district court assessed that there is no elevated risk of recidivism, which justifies the probationary sentence.
The Nordic Times has in several articles highlighted Hemming’s case – including reporting on how he was granted approximately €1.1 million in severance pay from taxpayer money, as long as he is not convicted of serious crimes.
Conditional sentence
A conditional sentence is a penalty in the Swedish legal system where the convicted person avoids prison but instead is placed under a two-year probationary period. During this period, the person must not commit any new crimes.
Conditional sentences are often given to individuals who are deemed to have a low risk of reoffending and have no prior criminal record. The sentence can be combined with fines, community service, or - as in this case - compensation to the victim.
