A man in his 30s stood trial in Nord-Troms and Senja District Court for having raped a female colleague in the Armed Forces. The case had a penalty of over 6 years. However, the court did not find it proven, he considered it “certain or most likely” that the woman was unable to resist the sexual intercourse. Thus, he was not convicted under section 291 of the Criminal Code, which includes rape. The man was instead convicted under section 297 of the Penal Code, for having committed a sexual act with someone who did not consent. However, the court disagreed as to whether penetration had taken place. The court’s minority could not rule out that the man had only felt the victim’s genitals outside his trousers. Thus the court ended up in prison for 120 days. The prosecutor in the case, Trude Kvanli, submitted a request for imprisonment for 3 years and 3 months. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news Would have been jailed for 3 years and 3 months. The prosecutor’s office believed he must have obtained sexual relations through violence or threatening behaviour. In the district court, the prosecutor in the case, Trude Kvanli, submitted a request for imprisonment for 3 years and 3 months. The woman’s legal aid lawyer believed that the court should sentence the man to pay restitution to the woman of approximately NOK 120,000. Nord-Troms and Senja District Court, on the other hand, believes that there is no basis for restitution compensation. According to the court’s assessment, it is not sufficiently documented that the victim has suffered psychological “damage” in the sense of the Damages Compensation Act. The court does not doubt that the woman has suffered afterwards, but notes that she has not sought any form of treatment for this and that no diagnosis has been made. Trude Kvanli tells news that she has not had the opportunity to read the judgment in detail. She says that she cannot take a decision on whether or not the verdict should be appealed until she has seen the court’s arguments. news has not been able to get a comment from defender Olav Eriksen or legal aid lawyer Kristina Aastrøm on Monday evening. The court believes that there was no basis for compensation for the victim Photo: Trygve Grønning / news Pleaded not guilty The victim met the man for the first time at a party in 2020. Then they both worked in the Defense Forces in Indre Troms. The incident happened after this, when the man followed the offended woman home. The woman, who is in her 20s, believes the man must have committed a sexual act against her. In court, she explained that she froze and was unable to resist. The defendant, on the other hand, claimed that he perceived that what happened was the will of both parties. He did not rule out that he may have touched her without her clothes, but did not plead guilty to what he was charged with. – When you are in the act, it is a natural progression that you start touching each other, said the man in his explanation. – I don’t remember her pulling away. It was a natural ending. Following the incident, a notification case was established. Had there been more warnings When the case went to court, the woman’s boss was called in as a witness. She was the one who dealt with the notification case. It then emerged that there had been several warnings against the accused. These were not judged to be of the same serious nature, but must have dealt with sexually offensive behaviour. According to the Norwegian Armed Forces’ representative, these circumstances were taken into account in the assessment, when they had to decide what reactions the case would have for the man. The conclusion was that the man could not renew his contract in the Armed Forces, and was deprived of attendance until the contract expired a few months later.
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