Finn charged with 799 sex crimes against teens

HELSINKI, May 26 (Reuters) A Finnish martial arts coach has been charged with 799 counts of sex crimes against 12 teenagers, including abuse, molestation and rape, a prosecutor said today.

The man, a Taekwondo coach in his early thirties, is accused of crimes against young people aged between 14 and 17 over a period of eight years in the northern City of Oulu, local prosecutor Paivi Markus said in a statement.

Markus declined to say if the victims were boys or girls. Oulu is the biggest city in northern Finland and has about 130,000 inhabitants.

The coach, who has been detained by police since January, has denied committing any crimes.

REUTERS SHR VV1703