Former C-Top Politician Gustav Hemming Faces Trial for Alleged Sexual Offense

Former C-top politician Gustav Hemming resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct against a minor and now faces potential imprisonment. According to the prosecutor, he masturbated in front of a 13-year-old on a train in Stockholm. On Thursday, he appeared in Attunda District Court.

"It has been a long and exhausting process," said the boy's legal representative, Anna Sjölund, after the hearing.

The trial against the former regional councilor Gustav Hemming concluded after lunchtime, with a verdict expected on June 27.

"It's at the level of imprisonment, but other penalties can be requested," said prosecutor Rebecca Rehnström after the hearing, which was held behind closed doors.

What penalty have you requested?

"I do not want to comment on what transpired during the hearing."

Lawyer Anna Sjölund represents the boy.

"This has been a long and exhausting process. The plaintiff and the plaintiff's family are relieved that the main hearing is completed. Now we await the district court's verdict, so the plaintiff can hopefully find closure in this part and continue processing this experience," she said after the hearing.

Only after the court's loudspeakers announced the start of the sexual misconduct hearing did Gustav Hemming hurry out of an adjacent room with his lawyer.

His gaze was fixed on the courtroom door, and when he finally sat down and listened to the opening statements, it was mostly directed at the table in front of him.

Opposite him, on the other side of the room, sat one of the boy's parents with a legal representative.

After Rebecca Rehnström read the description of the offense, Hemming's defense stated that he "acknowledges the factual circumstances."

However, he denies intent, claiming he did not intend to sexually offend the boy and that he did not perceive the boy as a child, but thought he was in his late teens.

"The investigation shows that the man touched himself both inside and outside his clothes in front of the plaintiff in a manner that I believe constitutes sexual misconduct against a child," prosecutor Rebecca Rehnström previously stated.

The court decided on closed doors during the hearing.

Hemming: "Scanned Around a Bit"

For 18 years, Gustav Hemming held significant roles in county and regional politics.

The fall was heavy when the regional councilor announced his resignation in December.

This followed several people identifying him, through a segment on "Efterlyst," as the man in a cap and sunglasses who satisfied himself in front of a 13-year-old boy on August 23 last year.

In interviews, the boy testified about his shock when the man in front of him began touching himself and how he jumped off the train, followed by Gustav Hemming, and then called one of his parents.

Gustav Hemming claimed he perceived the situation differently.

"And, so that, and there I perceived, or perceive, I, I scanned around a bit and I perceived some kind of contact there that, that explains why, I perceived a, a mutuality that can be sexually arousing in an anonymous environment," Hemming said in interviews.

However, it is unclear how he could perceive a train carriage on the Roslagsbanan, where a passenger had just risen from the seat next to Hemming's, as an "anonymous environment."