Two male teenagers aged 17 and 18 have been found guilty of setting fire to the historic post mill in Holdbæk in northeastern Zealand on May 21 last year, causing 4.6 million kroner’s worth of damage.

But in sentencing, the 17-year-old got a much more severe punishment that factored in his conviction on child pornography charges after being filmed having sex with a 14-year-old girl.

While the 18-year-old was given nine months house arrest for his role in the fire, the 17-year-old was imprisoned for two months at a closed youth offender institution – to be followed by a year at an open youth offender residence.

A 16-year-old who filmed the sex scene, meanwhile, was locked up for 40 days.

Not so cosy after all
Registered on Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen’s protected buildings list, the mill had previously stood for three centuries. However, it was not destroyed.

The boys – one of them has since turned 18 – told the police they had originally planned for a cosy evening when they broke into the mill, but their small fire got out of hand.

Several bystanders witnessed the fire and helped the police find the guilty youths. The fire was so fierce it required the firefighters to call for reinforcements and to use water from the nearby fjord.