The Helsinki Appeals Court sat in closed session today, for the appeals process for Finnish TV celebrity Axl Smith.
Smith was convicted in February this year for taking videos of multiple sex partners without their knowledge or consent, and then sharing some videos on a WhatsApp group with other local celebrities.
The prosecutor is appealing the verdict because he wants a custodial sentence for Smith. The former television host was sentenced to 14 months suspended sentence, ordered to pay €100,000 to his victims, and pay €50,000 court costs.
Today, the case was heard behind closed doors. Only Smith’s lawyer and the prosecutor were present. Smith participated in the process by telephone.
Smith, 33, is also known in Finland as a musician and DJ, and was convicted of 30 cases of unlawful observation; four cases or defamation; and two cases of privacy violations. There are 29 victims in the case.
The victims have applied for damages because they have not received any money from Smith.
Lawyer Markus Talvio, representing several of the victims, told journalists on Monday that there are hopes the compensation will be paid within the next few weeks.
Names Revealed
The original court case and verdict has prompted further investigations, because some of the documents that were partially secret in court, ended up in the hands of the media, and had part of a victim’s name visible.
Police investigators say that the prosecutor’s office will make a decision on any possible charges related to this breach of privacy.
This case began when one of Smith’s sex partners suspected that she was being secretly filmed, and took material from Smith’s residence to the police.
Smith says that he recorded the videos for his own safety.
