In the autumn of 2020, child protection in a municipality in Hordaland contacted the police. They had received reports of concern about a named man. Other residents in the municipality had notified them of inappropriate contact between the man in his 30s and a minor neighbor girl. This was the start of the winding-up of an extensive assault case which starts in Hordaland District Court on 28 August. Four people from two families from the same neighborhood sit on the dock. The case has strongly affected several people in the municipality. Child protection has itself asked to be investigated after everything that has come to light. Possible “abuse network” in the neighborhood In a family of five, father, mother and the eldest son are accused of gross rape of the two youngest children in the family, a son and a daughter. Their male neighbor is accused of gross rape of the daughter of the neighboring family and his own son. When the abuse allegedly started, the children were under ten years old. Two of them must have been exposed to abuse for several years. For the girl, the abuse must have continued for almost her entire life. All four defendants pleaded not guilty. Prosecutor Ellen Cathrine Greve suggests that there may be a custodial sentence in the case. Photo: Elise Angell / news 21 years in prison and possible detention The neighbour, a man in his 30s, was arrested after child protection contacted the police. During the investigation, the parents, a man in his 50s and a woman in her 40s, became involved. The two were arrested in the summer of 2021. The prosecution brought charges against all three in December 2022. Later, another person was also suspected. The elder son of the couple, a man in his 20s, was detained and charged in the case in February this year. Now he is also charged in the same case. What they all have in common is that they are charged with aggravated rape of children under 14 years of age. This means that they can be sentenced to 21 years in prison. It also appears in the indictment that the public prosecutor will consider asking for custody when it concerns the father of the family. These are the offended parties in the case Gut – son in the family. Guten is said to have been subjected to sexual abuse for several years by his father, mother and older brother. The abuse started when the boy was under 10 years old. Girl – daughter in the family The girl is said to have been subjected to sexual abuse for several years by her mother, father, older brother and the father next door. The abuse started when she was around one year old. Boy – neighbor of the other two victims and son of the neighboring father The boy is said to have been subjected to abuse by his own father. The abuse is said to have started when he was under ten years old and to have continued for about a year. These are the defendants. Man in his 50s. Father of two of the victims. Accused of aggravated rape of his son and daughter. The abuse must have happened on several occasions and over several years. Both children were under ten years old when the abuse started. Several of the abuses are said to have occurred against both children at the same time. The father also allegedly forced the youngest son to abuse his younger sister. Is also accused of sexual acts against his own dog. Was previously sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for downloading abuse material between 2013 and 2017. Woman in her 40s. Mother of two of the victims. She is charged with aggravated rape of her son and daughter. The abuse must have occurred on several occasions and over several years. According to the indictment, both children were under ten years old when the abuse started. According to the indictment, she was aware that her son was being abused by his own father. She must have been present during the assault without doing anything to stop it. She is also said to have shown her daughter films that show child abuse. Man in his 20s, oldest son in the family and older brother of two of the offended. Accused of aggravated rape of his own sister and his own brother. The abuse must have continued over several years. They are said to have started when the brother and sister were under ten years old. Man in his 30s. Neighbor of the other defendants in the case and father of one of the victims. He is charged with aggravated rape of his own son and the girl next door. The assault is said to have occurred several times over a period of around one year. Both children were under ten years old when the abuse started. In addition to assaulting both of them, he is said to have caused the two to perform sexual acts against each other. against children. – A particularly long and comprehensive case Ellen Cathrine Greve is the state prosecutor in the case. In court, she is the prosecutor and thus the prosecuting authority’s representative. She refers to all four charges as “very serious”. – This is an extremely long and extensive case concerning physical abuse. She is aware that the defendants believe they are innocent. – Bringing charges in the case is based on what the investigation has shown. So I am of a different opinion, she says. – I think the investigation has been one-sided Kai Inge Gavle is defending the man in his 30s who is also referred to as “the neighbour”. He was the first to be arrested. – The matter has taken a long time for him. He is looking forward to being able to explain himself and for the court to have the opportunity to see all the evidence in the case together. We hope and believe he can be cleaned up, says Gavle. According to the defender, the neighbor is “clearly clear” that he is innocent. – He believes that very few have looked at the things that speak in favor of the defendants in the case. He believes that the investigation has been one-sided and that the police and the child protection service have had tunnel vision in the matter. Denies having done anything criminal Jan Henrik Høines defends the man in his 50s who is also called “the father”. According to the defense attorney, the father is concerned that the charges relate to two different matters: He believes he and the family have nothing to do with the neighbour’s case. – My client is the father of one of the possible victims in the other case, so he gets a very different role there, especially because he rejects any form that something criminal has taken place on his part, says Høines. Lawyer Jan Henrik Høines defends the man in his 50s. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen For the father, the state attorney has notified that it may be appropriate to submit a request for detention. – It is something he takes very seriously. He thinks it makes it even more important in the case for him to find out what happened, says Høines. – Enormous burden Astrid Aksnes defends the woman in her 40s, i.e. the mother of two of the offended. – She does not recognize herself in the descriptions of what she is accused of, says Aksnes. She says the mother is having a hard time. – It is an enormous burden to be prosecuted for abuse against one’s own children and to have to answer for it when one does not acknowledge criminal guilt. Alexander Gonzalo Sele is the defender of the older brother who is in his 20s. He says that his older brother is dreading the case, but that he is happy to be able to counter the allegations in the indictment. – He is quite clear that he has never been exposed to anything and that he has also never seen his siblings being exposed to anything. He thinks these claims are wrong, says Sele. Alexander Gonzalo Sele defends the man in his 20s. Photo: Sissel Rikheim The case has been in court for ten weeks. Among other things, the offended children have been through arranged hearings which will be shown to the court, four experts are on trial, and over a hundred people will testify.
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Defendant for abuse of young children for several years – news Vestland
