A man in Finland named Jesse Erkkonen has been jailed for using Snapchat to sexually exploit over 100 children. Most of the girls who brought charges against him were between the ages of 12 and 16. The court heard that Erkkonen used Snapchat to approach young girls and ask them for naked photos and sexual videos. He was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for multiple charges of child sexual abuse, blackmail, threats, and cannabis-related offenses. Most of his victims were from the town of Valkeakoski and surrounding areas.
Erkkonen convinced some of his victims to meet up with him and engage in sexual activity by promising them money, alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis, and then threatened to spread their pictures. In one case, he asked an 11-year-old girl to film her seven-year-old sister and her friend while they were naked in the shower. The cases came to light in 2021 when 10 of the victims told their school counselor about what had happened.
Erkkonen denied most of the charges, saying he could not remember. He has been in custody since 2021.
