On Monday, the trial against the man started in Hordaland district court. He is accused of rape against three girls, and sexual acts against five other girls. The man was employed as an after-school assistant at two schools in Bergen. The man pleads not guilty. – Can’t count. There was a replay of the arranged questioning of one of the offended girls before the court, who is said to have been raped repeatedly. Here she explains that it happened when she was eating meals with her friends at after-school. – It happened so many times that I can’t count, she said. The defendant was sitting between her and her friend when she was subjected to the abuse. Twice a third friend threw food into the air to distract the accused. Each assault usually took a long time. She remembers that on the way she looked at the clock and waited. – It lasts until the food runs out. It lasts quite a long time, because there are many children who will eat up, she said. The girl did not dare to say stop. She was afraid that the defendant would get angry or shout. After the assaults, the defendant is said to have said “don’t tell anyone”. She explained that she eventually left after-school care because of the abuse. May Britt Løvik is the legal representative for five of the offended girls. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news – Said he could pick as much as he wanted Another offended girl explained that it all started with the defendant asking if they wanted to sit on his lap. Then it escalated. – He said he didn’t have a girlfriend, so he could pick on us as much as he wanted. Once, another employee came into the room and asked: “Is it all right here?” – He was the first to say yes, but it didn’t really go well, she said. The girl said that what he did to her was “very disgusting”. But didn’t realize it wasn’t allowed. Would he stop The assaults are said to have taken place in the period 2020 and 2021. The girls were between six and eight years old. The man was arrested in December last year, after a health nurse at one of the schools alerted the police. In advance, three of the offended girls had told the public health nurse about what they had been exposed to. An episode about abuse on Supernytt made them understand that what the after-school staff had done to them was illegal. They were afraid that he would do the same to other children, in other schools. – We wanted to stop him, said the offended girl in the arranged interrogation. – Unprofessional does not mean punishable The man’s defender, lawyer Erik Johan Mjelde, says that stroking, playing, touching and physical contact happen daily between adults and children at SFO. – Actions can be unprofessional, careless and inappropriate, without being punishable, he says. He emphasizes that it is the motive behind the action that is decisive. The man’s defender, lawyer Erik Johan Mjelde, emphasizes that physical contact between adults and children is not punishable. – Actions can be unprofessional, careless and inappropriate, without being punishable, he says. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news There have been at least four cases of abuse against children in schools and kindergartens in Bergen municipality in just one year. The case against the 28-year-old man is the most extensive. Here, the defendant has been charged with the rape of three children. The headmaster at one of the two schools was fired by Bergen municipality this winter. The background is that he did not proceed with reports of trouble about the man in spring 2021.
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– Happened so many times that I can’t count – news Vestland
