Estonian court decides on early release for man convicted of child sexual abuse

TALLINN - Andres Kents, who was convicted of child sexual abuse a few years ago, was released from jail by a court decision last week, Elu24 reported.

Two years ago, the Harju County Court sentenced Kents, who worked as a worked as a kindergarten and school janitor, to nine years in prison for sexual abuse of children under the age of 10. He had been in custody since April 2021.

Kents and his attorney appealed the sentence to the circuit court, which reduced it to five years in January 2023.

According to the indictment, Kents sexually harassed at least four children on multiple occasions between August 2018 and April 2021: he touched, kissed and massaged the children, the youngest of whom was reportedly two years old.

However, it was not established that Kents had sex with any of the children or used physical violence against them, which also affected the change of sentence.

"Although any act of a sexual nature against a child is particularly reprehensible, this does not mean that all such acts are equal," the circuit court said in its decision. The appellate court explained that the punishment must take into account the gravity of the specific act and must fall between the minimum and the intermediate sanction.

On Nov. 8, an order of the Harju County Court came into force whereby the court decided to conditionally release Kents before the end of his sentence, with a probation period until April 2026.

For the first three months, Kents will be under electronic surveillance and during this time he will be under the supervision of a probation officer.

During the period of supervision of conduct, he is not allowed to be near minors.

"Since both the prison and the prosecutor's office supported Kents' application, the court also believes that conditional early release, in combination with electronic surveillance, allows for supervision of conduct over Kents and thus supervision outside a custodial institution, in order to ensure positive changes while giving Andres Kents the opportunity to prove that he is capable of leading a law-abiding life in the future," the court said.

The court added, "It is also expedient for Andres Kents to undergo a social program during probation to help him recognize and solve his problems and get help. Kents' suspended early release from prison is supported by the Tallinn Prison and the prosecutor."

A spokesperson for the Harju County Court said Kents agreed to probation and understands its necessity and usefulness.

"All of these circumstances, according to the court, will contribute to the person's future law-abiding conduct," the spokesperson added.