There were two very different explanations given in court on Thursday. If the man is convicted in the most serious charge, the sentence is up to six years in prison. The man, who is significantly older than the woman, denied having been in a power relationship with her. He also does not admit to having behaved as he is accused of. The incident in question is said to have happened one night until Saturday, after a social gathering at the mass in the relevant camp in Indre Troms. Where the accused had been thanked in his position. At the meeting there was new alcohol. The man is charged with several counts. The most serious is that he is said to have abused his position in an attempt to obtain sexual intercourse. He is also said to have tried to get someone to perform acts similar to sexual intercourse with himself, by abusing his position, a relationship of dependence or a relationship of trust. He is also accused of sending text messages with sexually offensive content. Here he acknowledges the facts, but not criminal guilt. Assistance lawyer Ingunn Tøllefsen has previously stated that the woman who has been offended in this case is satisfied with how the Armed Forces has behaved after the case was notified. Photo: Linda Pedersen / news – Feeling uncomfortable After drinking and dancing at the fair in the relevant camp this June evening last year, both the offended, the accused, and a number of other people went home to the woman. The woman explained that when she went into her bedroom to change from uniform to civilian, the man was already there. She further described how he came up with approaches, and that she tried to “de-escalate” the situation by staying calm, but at the same time saying no and asking him to leave the room. She was afraid he might ruin something for her if she called out to any of the others in the house. Later that night, she told the other party participants about the experience she had had, and was encouraged by a male colleague to report the matter to the Armed Forces. She did so, and after an interrogation by the Military Police, the case was sent to the civilian police and further investigated there. – I had never imagined that I would join such a case. It feels very uncomfortable. But I want to speak out as a colleague, that has been my thought, the woman said in court. Power relations or not news has recently reported on several notification cases in the Armed Forces, where managers have also received notifications against them. In this case, there is no direct line of command between the offended and the accused, but the man has a far higher degree than her, and in court he referred to himself as an adviser and a cultural carrier. The prosecuting authority must present evidence, not only that a power relationship has been present, but also that the man intended to fulfill his attempt to obtain sexual intercourse. The woman pointed out that the man has several times stood in front of the commander and fronted the Armed Forces’ core values, which are respect, responsibility, courage and loyalty. – He was the one I would go to if I had problems and had to go higher than at my level. Then I would have taken it with him. Therefore, it is most disgusting of all that it was he who did these things, the woman said in her explanation. The female commander had four friends with her in court. They are also employees of the Armed Forces. The woman chose to sit on the audience bench with them during the court proceedings. Kristina Aastrøm defends the male commander who is accused of having abused his position in an attempt to achieve sexual intercourse with a female colleague of lower rank. Photo: Linda Pedersen / news Admits messages When the man later explained himself in Nord-Troms and Senja District Court, he had a completely different version of what had taken place at the victim’s home that evening. He said that it was the woman who had invited him into her room. There she is said to have initiated conversations of a sexual nature, which he thinks was very exciting. This was something he, at his age, was not used to, he explained, and therefore he wanted to experience more of this when he came home at night. The man admitted that he had sent sexualized messages to the woman after he returned home, but even here he denies criminal guilt. – I felt that it was harmless, based on what we had talked about earlier in the evening, he explained. The man denies that he was in a position of power over the woman. He also had to answer prosecutor Linn Rognli Hansen’s questions about alleged episodes of inappropriate behavior with five other female employees in the Armed Forces. All these episodes were rejected by the accused. Nine witnesses have been called in the case. Two days were set aside for the trial. In the alternative, the prosecution wants to prosecute the man for having committed a sexual act with someone who has not consented to it.
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Male officer denies criminal guilt for accusations of abuse of position – news Troms and Finnmark
