Police in Oulu say they they’ve launched an investigation into four new cases of sex offense against girls under the age of 15.
Officers say they’ve arrested foreign-born men in connection with the allegations - two aged 20, two under 18 - as the new investigation looks at allegations of rape, gross sexual abuse of a child and sexual abuse of a child said to have taken place during summer 2018.
Police also said today that one of the alleged victims died last autumn, seemingly confirming internet speculation that a girl involved in the ongoing sex abuse cases in Oulu had committed suicide.
Nine cases of sex abuse being investigated
In total, police are investigating nine cases of sexual offenses involving young girls, and say they’re looking into whether there was a pattern of systematic or organised abuse among the suspects.
All of the men so far detained in connection with these cases are foreign-born, and some of them new each other.
In December, police revealed they had arrested seven men in connection with allegations that three girls aged between 10 and 15-years old had been sexually abused or raped over a period of several months between June and October in the northern city.
At that time, senior officers called for composure and for people to respect the rule of law with regards to reacting to the case. Oulu police also issued a warning for parents to be alert for possible online grooming actions.
An eighth suspect in the initial cases fled to Germany, but was eventually caught and should be extradited to Finland during January.
