– I feel that the court has believed in me, and I have not given them any other choice considering that we have refuted the accusation, says the man. He meets news outside the courthouse in Oslo on Tuesday morning. He was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in the Court of Appeal. He helped come up with the new video himself. This led to the case being reopened. Now he is acquitted. – The result was nothing more than expected. We put forward an alibi that was labeled as safe by Kripos, says defender Victoria Holmen. The word alibi is not mentioned in the judgement, but the Snapchat video that the defender tracked down with a party attendee is the evidence that has turned the case around. DEFENDER: Lawyer Victoria Holmen. Photo: Inger Kristine Lee / news The woman’s lawyer reacts to the “alibi” – We believe that the so-called video evidence has no significance for what actually happened in the five minutes in the bathroom as the parties agree that they were there alone, says legal aid lawyer Stine Rigmor Grimstad . And adds: – This evidence does not provide an “alibi” as the defense and the accused state. The judgment is not legally binding until the appeal period has expired. – Now I have registered that the judgment has come, and then I will consider whether it should be appealed or not. It is too early to go any further into it, says State Attorney Carl Graff Hartmann to news. He refers to the importance of both parties in a criminal case explaining themselves in court, as the accused and the victim will normally have quite different explanations of what happened. The victim did not appear in the Court of Appeal in September. – As she herself has described it, she was unable to meet because of this significant pressure through media reports, and also what has been from publications on social media, says Hartmann. He explains that it naturally affects the evidence situation that she was not present, even though an audio recording of her previous explanation was played. ASSISTANCE ATTORNEY: Stine Rigmor Grimstad. Photo: The lawyers at Lilletorget In the bathroom at a party It was in July 2020 that around 70 people gathered at a house party in Eastern Norway. The woman and the man had not met before, but ended up together in the bathroom. The now acquitted man says they had sex in the bathroom that evening. The woman has explained that she was brutally raped in the bathroom. The verdict states that the victim has “given a detailed explanation of how she got hold of the phone and sent the message while the abuse was taking place” in the bathroom. 14 July 2020 22.14 Offender: Can fu Plis come Both have estimated that they were in the bathroom together for five to ten minutes. There are two pieces of technical evidence that have been central to the reinstatement case. The two pieces of evidence have been difficult to reconcile, considering the woman’s explanation. 10:12 p.m.: A Snapchat video of a partygoer dancing in the bathroom. 10.14 p.m.: An SMS sent from the victim’s phone: “Can fu Plis come”. This is the video the party-goer was able to track down on his phone: The offended woman has insisted that she sent the message during the assault. “She has also given a detailed explanation about how she got hold of the phone and sent the message while the abuse was going on,” the judgment states. The court further writes that such an important part of the explanation about the abuse cannot be reconciled with other technical evidence. The court believes that it also casts doubt on other parts of the victim’s explanation about what happened in the bathroom. news has previously discussed the case: Still have to pay compensation Thus, the majority, including the two professional judges and two co-judges, have concluded that the 22-year-old should be acquitted. – We register that there is a video that falls short of what the majority believes to be proven, says the public prosecutor. The majority believe that the victim has given a credible and detailed explanation of what happened in the bathroom. She has essentially stuck to the same explanation since the first police interview in September 2021. – The most important thing for us is that the majority of the court believes that the victim is credible and that evidence also supports her explanation, says the public prosecutor. Nevertheless, the majority of the court, including the two expert judges, have concluded that the man should be acquitted. FRI: With the verdict in hand, the 22-year-old walked out of the courthouse today. Photo: Inger Kristine Lee / news The man must pay compensation. Here, it was one of the co-judges who reversed himself and thought that the preponderance of probability had been met. Thus, there was a majority with four co-judges who believed that he should be sentenced to pay NOK 248,000 in compensation to the woman. In order for a person to be sentenced to a penalty, it must be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the person in question has committed the act. In civil cases, a general preponderance of probability is required. – The compensation has not been central in any way to my client, even though she is now satisfied that a clear preponderance of probability is assumed as the basis for the compensation she now receives, says the legal aid lawyer. – I am lucky to have found evidence. The defense attorney is aware that the client is clean. – Yes, he is. The civil claim is a side track. The Court of Appeal also emphasizes this very clearly. It writes that a basis for liability on the civil claim does not change the acquittal, either directly or indirectly. It is written in black and white and was very important to the client. The man was sentenced on Tuesday. – I am lucky to have found evidence three years after this party, he says to news. – Do you feel that the court has believed in you when some of the judges go against you too? – I feel that the court has believed in me, and I have given them no other choice considering that we have refuted the accusation. It’s hard when you can’t prove you’re innocent. It is a reversed burden of proof, he says. The four-year-old incident has affected the lives of the two involved. It still does. – She is not feeling well at all. She has had major health challenges because of what has happened and not least what has happened afterwards, says the legal aid lawyer. The man is happy about the acquittal, but says that the case has been painful. – It has been a living nightmare. I have been through things that I myself cannot understand have happened in my life. Published 01.10.2024, at 21.06 Updated 01.10.2024, at 21.09
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Acquitted of Snapchat video – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
