"For this to be a criminal offence it's required that the sexual molestation was directed towards one or more people. I think the court's judgment is reasonable," said public prosecutor, Olof Vrethammar.
Vrethammar does not plan on appealing the court's ruling, according to
The Local, an English news agency in Sweden.
"The district court has made a judgment on this case. With that we can conclude that it is okay to masturbate on the beach. The act may be considered to be disorderly conduct" he said.
Dr. Liz Davies, a researcher of Sweden's child protection system did not expect the ruling, according to
Daily Mail.
"Sweden has a really robust child protection system and very rigorous investigation around sexual abuse," she said. "So this judgment is surprising given that such an act could be witnessed by children as well as adults"
The case followed a recent ruling where a 15-year-old Swedish boy was acquitted after throwing his pants into a lake and standing naked in front of two girls. Despite both girls wanting the boy to be convicted of molestation, the court ruled that the act was not of a sexual nature and dismissed the case.
