In court, the defendant told the man that he has grabbed the children on the bottom and in the crotch. – But I have never done this consciously, he says. The former after-school employee admits that he touched the children during play, but denies that he had sexual thoughts about them. In the case, there are eight offended girls. The man explains that he experienced an involuntary arousal due to body contact when he was playing with the children. And that it could come “out of the blue”. – It was cruel and distressing. It was heavy. I felt really bothered by it, he says. Charges upheld in court The man is accused of rape against three girls, and sexual acts against five other girls. He pleaded not guilty when the case against him started in Hordaland District Court on Monday. Then one of the eight girls explained that she “was abused so many times that she can’t count”. Prosecutor Lillian Anderson Kleppe has, after the trial started, upgraded one of the charges to include aggravated rape of children under 14 years of age. The penalty is up to 21 years in prison. There are eight offended girls in the case. May Britt Løvik is the legal representative for five of the offended girls. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news Felt pressured to work with children The man says that he grew up in a physical family with several younger siblings. – We have always hugged, ravaged and patted each other on the back. The defendant was employed as an after-school assistant at two schools in Bergen. His family had contacts at one of the schools. That made him feel compelled to apply. He denies that he has deliberately sought out or wanted to work with children. When he started the job, he was not trained in how to handle children. Police lawyer and prosecutor Lillian Andersson Kleppe calls the case against the 28-year-old man serious. She has upgraded one of the charges to include aggravated rape of a child. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news – The girls sought contact with me He explains that he had no control over the children he was responsible for. He describes himself as a yes person, who was unable to set boundaries. The children jumped and climbed on him. He raged and tickled them back. – The girls sought contact with me a lot. I have broom and stroked them on the back. They sat on the lap in connection with arguing, laughing or when they fought. He admits that on one occasion he stroked one of the girls’ stomach, and that he reached under the waistband of his trousers, but stopped at the panties. – Suddenly it was as if I woke up, I jumped and thought “shit”. After this, he said he became depressed and smoked more and more weed. The man’s defender, lawyer Erik Johan Mjelde. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news – I was in shock The man was arrested in December last year. In advance, three of the girls had notified the health nurse at the school about what they had experienced. When the man was able to read the charge, he thought: That’s a little true, he says. He told the police that he felt relieved, that he had gone and waited for them. He also explained that he believed he was sexually attracted to children. He explained in the first interrogation that he got hot in the head, almost dizzy, when the children sat on his lap. Now he denies that this is true. – I had smoked weed. I was in shock, in a kind of trance. I was completely put out. Four cases in one year 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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– It was horrible – news Vestland
