STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- One man and 23 women were convicted by a court in Sweden Tuesday of possessing and distributing child pornography.
The verdict comes nearly a year to the day when police raided several locations across the country after finding thousands of pictures and films in the possession of 43-year-old Lars Skoglund, the Swedish news agency TT reported.
Skoglund was sentenced to one year in prison and the women were fined or handed conditional sentences. They ranged in age from 38 to 70 years old.
Police said Skoglund came in contact with the women through Internet chat rooms and gradually convinced them to accept files containing images of children being raped by adults.
The court said Skoglund "took advantage of their poor mental states and desire for human contact."
It added that the women would never have come into contact with child pornography if they hadn't met Skoglund.
