A Latvian teacher and IT specialist from Zemgale has been convicted of a total of 172 crimes. The 37-year-old man extensively downloaded videos involving the sexual exploitation of children. Over time, he began to create such videos himself, reports Latvian television.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and seven years of probation after release. The maximum possible punishment for this article was 20 years in prison.
According to prosecutor Vladislav Andreev of the Riga Eastern Prosecutor's Office, the accused did not physically rape anyone, but he committed a large number of acts aimed specifically at producing child pornography. Therefore, the imposed sentence is quite strict and appropriate to the situation.
One day already served
One day has been deducted from the 15 years of imprisonment — the day he was first detained for three hours for downloading materials involving the sexual exploitation of children. This occurred in August 2024.
That summer, he was recognized as a suspect and prohibited from working with children. After the detention incident, he did not return to school — the principal fired him based on the ban.
At that time, the police were aware that a large volume of videos involving the sexual exploitation of children was stored on his devices, but it had not yet been established that he had created some of the materials himself. At this stage of the investigation, the man did not cooperate with the police, denied guilt, and only acknowledged the fact of storing files, but did not admit to using children online.
Six months passed from the first detention to the arrest. For six months, the police analyzed the seized files. Only at this stage was it established that the man had filmed some of the videos himself, and some — in the physical presence of children.
Only every eighth victim recognized as a victim
In total, at least 150 children suffered from the man's actions, but officially only 19 have been recognized as victims. All officially recognized victims are from Latvia. The convicted man is obliged to pay them compensation amounting to more than 186,000 euros. The other victims are abroad, and their parents are likely still unaware of what happened.
Despite the sentence, the work continues — the police are sending information to the relevant countries to notify the victims and their parents.
Most of the victims are children from other countries, as the crimes were committed on various online platforms. In the digital environment, criminals are not limited by distance or national borders.
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