More than 1,000 Danish youths have been charged by police after sharing video clips on Facebook involving 15-year-olds having sex - even though the age of consent in Denmark is 15.
The charges are part of the biggest case in Danish history involving the sharing of offensive images of children, following a coordinated police operation that dates back to 2015, reports The Copenhagen Post. If found guilty of distributing child pornography, the defendants face a possible fine or a 20-day suspended sentence, both of which would give them a criminal record, and may be banned from working with children for a decade.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While the age of consent in Denmark is 15, Danish law considers distributing sexual material involving people under the age of 18 to be distribution of child pornography, CNN says.
A total of around 800 boys and 200 girls have been charged, most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 20.
So far 1,004 people across Denmark face preliminary charges over the videos - a step short of formal charges, CBS News reports.
-
Moscow cheers Trump’s new ‘America First’ strategyspeed read The president’s national security strategy seeks ‘strategic stability’ with Russia
-
Political cartoons for December 8Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include ICE in the Big Easy, Warner on the wane, and a Putin peace deal
-
Did Trump just end the US-Europe alliance?Today's Big Question New US national security policy drops ‘grenade’ on Europe and should serve as ‘the mother of all wake-up calls’
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
Denmark’s record-setting arms purchase raises eyebrows and anxietyIN THE SPOTLIGHT By eschewing American-made munitions for their European counterparts, the Danish government is bracing for Russian antagonism and sending a message to the West
