Swedish prosecutor charges 23 women over possession of child porn

May 20, 2011, 13:43 GMT

Stockholm - A man and 23 women were charged Friday in Sweden over possession and distribution of child pornography.

The images were sent over the internet via email and from chatrooms, prosecutor Niclas Eltenius said at a news conference in Falun, western Sweden, where the pending trial is to be held.

The women were between 38 to 70 years of age, and came from various parts of the country, but did not know each other and were not part of a paedophile network, the prosecutor said.

The common factor was possession of pornographic images of children, and the 43-year-old man who initiated contact with the women and distributed the images, Eltenius said. At least two of the women however also supplied the man images.

A few of the female defendants have denied asking to receive the photos and videos. However, Eltenius said there was evidence, including chat logs retrieved from the man's computer, that suggested this was not the case.

Some of the women face prison terms of up to two years while the man could receive a six-year term.

The group was uncovered a year ago when police investigated the man over child abuse allegations. Although these allegations proved unfounded, a search of his computer revealed hundreds of child pornographic images.

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