Summary of the case A man convicted of violence against his son in 2007 is hoping for a retrial after a cyst was discovered in his son’s head a couple of years ago. The man, who was sentenced to one year and three months in prison and to pay over one million kroner in compensation, claims he is innocent. The verdict was based on the assessment of the so-called triad, as evidence. The triad is a combination of three injuries/findings in the head and eyes of infants. There is an ongoing debate among doctors and lawyers as to whether the triad is good enough as evidence of ragging, or whether the injuries may have other explanations. The man’s lawyer has asked the Re-admission Commission to reopen the case, and points to, among other things, new assessments and new knowledge about the diagnosis. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I am innocent. The man, whom news chooses to call “Frank”, says the words with great calmness. He has previously used the same formulation to the police and judges in both the District Court and the Court of Appeal. But he was not believed. In 2007, he was sentenced to one year and three months in prison. For what? The story begins one evening in Southern Norway, two years earlier. On that fateful night, Frank and his roommate’s twins had turned half a year old. The roommate was to have a long-awaited night off – out with girlfriends. It was the first night out since the birth. She didn’t catch the night bus home and had to spend the night with a cousin. Thus Frank, and a friend he had on an overnight visit, were alone with the twins. – At night, one twin woke up and was restless. Usually he calmed down quickly, but this time he was frantic. I tried to feed him, but his jaw had locked. He frowned, got red in the face and was quite spastic, he tells news. Frank drove to the hospital with the twin. There, serious head injuries were discovered. It was uncertain whether the little boy would survive. He was sent on by air ambulance to the Rikshospitalet in Oslo, for intensive care. Here, bleeding was discovered in the eye. The son survived, but lost his sight and suffered a serious brain injury. Frank was arrested by the police. They wanted to know: How had the injuries occurred? Yes, in that Frank “in a moment of frustration and anger over the child’s constant crying lost his temper and shook the boy violently”, according to the judgment handed down in 2007. – It is completely absurd that they were able to come to that conclusion, says Frank to news. In addition to prison, Frank was sentenced to pay over one million kroner in compensation and restitution to his son. – I have served a sentence for something I did not do, says Frank. – It is completely absurd that they were able to come to that conclusion, says Frank about the verdict against him. Photo: Geir Ingar Egeland / news Didn’t lose care When the police opened a case against Frank, child protection was involved. – I was obviously afraid of losing the children, says Frank. Child protection instituted restrictions on contact while the case was investigated. But these lapsed before a final verdict was reached in the case. This is revealed in the judgment of the Court of Appeal. Frank did not lose custody. – Of course, keeping the care has meant everything, says Frank to news. During the trial, Frank received good praise from those who knew him. The verdict makes a point of it: The child’s mother also testified in Frank’s defense in court. She has always believed that he is innocent. – I don’t think he hurt our child. I have not yet received clear proof that he is guilty, she says to news. The Triad Evidence So on what basis was Frank convicted? The only evidence in the case was the so-called triad. The term “triad” is central to many cases of rag shaking, and describes three findings in infants: Bleeding under the outer, hard meninges (subdural haemorrhage) Bleeding inside the eyes (retinal haemorrhage) Damage to brain tissue. In the case against Frank, one expert doctor made the forensic assessment. In the Court of Appeal, four other doctors also testified. They thought the triad could best be explained by violent shaking. This was decisive for the court’s decision. The judgment from the Agder Court of Appeal states: “The supporting basis for the conviction is therefore the conclusions that can be drawn from the observed injuries by expert evidence, especially the combination of bleeding under the dura mater, retinal bleeding and brain damage, combined with the fact that the accused was alone about the care of the child at the time the injury must have occurred without any alternative explanation being proven.” – In my eyes, it is opinion and opinion, without basing it on facts. Someone had to be blamed, and it was me, says Frank to news. Heated debate In Norway, a number of parents have been sentenced for this type of violence against their children. The phenomenon is often called rag shaking or “Shaken Baby Syndrome”. In recent years, however, both the diagnosis and the evidence in these cases have been called into question. A heated debate is now taking place among both doctors and lawyers. Some warn of judicial murder. One of the points of contention is whether the triad can be considered evidence of rag shaking, or whether these injuries can have other explanations. Frank’s lawyer, Henriette Willix, believes that he would not have been convicted today. The triad does not hold up as evidence in a criminal case. – If the case from 2007 had been considered by the court today, he would not have been convicted, she says. Lawyer Henriette Willix. Photo: Morten Waagø / news Willix refers to a verdict from the Borgarting Court of Appeal last year, where a man was acquitted of ragging. The court held that triad findings did not count as evidence. – This was a decision of principle. It will have an impact on how the prosecution and courts handle such cases in the future, says Willix, who also represented the man who was acquitted. Willix has now asked the Readmissions Commission to reopen Frank’s case. This is not the only racketeering case on the commission’s table. news is aware of six cases of ragging and violence against children, which are under consideration. In addition, a similar case, the so-called Dagmamma case, was decided to be reopened in September. Re-admission commission Body that assesses whether a criminal case that has been legally decided by the courts must be re-processed by the court. The commission is independent of the courts and will thus contribute to greater legal certainty in Norway. The commission has five permanent members. The chairman, deputy chairman and one other member must have a law background. In 2022, the commission dealt with 242 cases. Of these, 44 were definitely reopened. If the case is reopened, the question of guilt and/or the sentencing must be tried again. The case will then go before a different court than the one that handed down the judgment in the first instance. Source: Store norske lexikon og spoortäkeke.no An unknown cyst was found The request to reopen Frank’s case also rests on new medical assessments. A couple of years ago, a group of researchers went through the findings in several racketeering cases, including the case against Frank. The researchers believed that the son’s injuries could have medical explanations that ruled out violence. This CT image of the boy’s head shows where researchers think the cyst appears (see red arrow). Photo: Sørlandet hospital HF In addition, they discovered, on photos of the son, what they believe to be a congenital cyst. – The cyst can lead to epilepsy and bleeding under the outer, hard meninges. The discovery fits very well with the father’s explanation of how he experienced the child, says Willix. Since the cyst had not been discovered earlier, it was never assessed by the court in 2007. There is an argument that the case should now be reopened, according to Willix. – Nothing in this world would mean more The years after the sentence have been difficult for Frank. He has been diagnosed with PTSD and works part-time. NAV is now considering whether he should become partially disabled. The son was troubled by pneumonia for several years and died a few years after Frank had served his sentence. Frank says that the verdict has affected both him and his family in meetings with people in the local community. – Of course it has been painful, he says. Only in the autumn did Frank find out about the cyst that had been found. Now that the case has been sought to be reopened, Frank sees hope of being believed in his alleged innocence. – Nothing in this world would mean more. Because then it is justice, he says. It was the Agder State Attorney’s Office that in 2006 decided to prosecute Frank. news has asked for comment on the fact that the case has now been sought to be reopened. First State Attorney Carl Henning Leknesund writes in an e-mail to news: “At the present time, the State Attorney does not feel like giving further comments on the petition from the convicted. It is also not common custom for us to do this.” First State Attorney Carl Henning Leknesund heads the Agder State Attorney’s Office. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news
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Father convicted of rape in filler strip case hopes for reinstatement after cyst discovery – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
