By M. Christian

YNOT EUROPE – The Swedish Supreme Court has overturned the child pornography conviction that cost a manga translator his good name, his job and a fine.

Simon Lundström, who translated Japanese comics for a living, was convicted in 2011 of possessing child pornography based on some of the images in a graphic novel he was translating. The company he worked for fired him when he was charged. As a consequence of conviction, he was fined $780 and required to register as a sex offender.

Last week, the Swedish Supreme Court overruled the court of appeals’ decision to uphold a district court’s original ruling. Although the high court justices agreed the cartoons Lundström translated may be considered pornographic and the characters may appear child-like, they “are fantasy figures and cannot be mistaken for real children.” Criminalizing possession of such images would go beyond the purpose of laws outlawing child pornography, the justices said, placing undue restriction on freedom of expression.

In pursuing the case, Chief Prosecutor Hedvig Trost indicated his office would rather be safe than sorry when children’s safety is at issue.

“Children should never be depicted in a sexual context, regardless of whether it is in a photograph or a drawing,” he said. “And even a drawing could be of a real child. A photo depicting a real child could have been used to make the drawing. It is hard from the outside to know whether there is an original photo or not.”

Even before the Supreme Court’s ruling, the head of Sweden’s child pornography task force took a more circumspect view.

“I have doubts about how a conviction will benefit those children who are victims of real abuse,” Björn Sellström said. “If the judgment [against Lundström] stands, the risk is that the number of cases involving child pornography offenses will increase. In turn that will mean longer processing times for those cases involving photographs and films of child abuse in real situations….

“We already have huge amounts of pictures to go through,” he added. “Animated images are not uncommon, and it would take time from work with children who are really in distress.”

With the Supreme Court setting aside the guilty verdict, Lundström will be removed from the sex offenders registry and receive a refund of the fine. He has not said whether he wishes to be reinstated at his former job.