Danish ex-minister bags 4-month jail term over possession of child abuse images

A Danish court on Monday sentenced former government minister Henrik Sass Larsen to four months in prison after investigators discovered thousands of child sexual abuse images in his possession.

Larsen, a onetime senior figure in Denmark’s Social Democratic Party and former industry minister, was found with more than 6,000 illicit photographs and about 2,000 videos stored on his computer.

Although he admitted to holding the files, Larsen insisted he had collected them in an attempt to uncover the identity of his own abuser from childhood. He initially denied wrongdoing.

Prosecutor Maria Cingari welcomed the ruling but described the case as tragic, noting that Larsen had managed to build a successful career despite a troubled early life.

As a child, Larsen spent time in foster care before eventually being adopted.

“You should never be in possession of child pornography, no matter the reason,” Cingari added.

During the trial, the 59-year-old told the court that in 2018 he had been sent a link to a decades-old video which he claimed showed him being abused at the age of three.

He also testified that in 2020 he received another recording in which a three-year-old girl was assaulted in his presence, when he himself was of a similar age. According to his account, both clips vanished from his device after he viewed them.

Larsen admitted that he regretted not informing the authorities when the files first appeared.

Prosecutors also brought a charge of possessing a child-like sex doll, but judges cleared him of that allegation. His lawyer, Berit Ernst, said they would consider whether to challenge the ruling on appeal.

The case became public in March 2024, prompting Larsen’s expulsion from the Social Democratic Party. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at the time said she was deeply shocked by the revelations.