– He experiences it as a burden. Both local and national media cover the case daily, and he has no real opportunity to counter the accusations leveled against him. So says lawyer Erlend Hjulstad Nilsen to news. He is the defender of the municipal superintendent in Trøndelag who was suspended from his position on 1 August. This happened after the doctor had his authorization temporarily revoked by the Norwegian Health Authority, due to several reports from female patients. On 24 August, he was charged by the police with abusing his position to obtain sexual intercourse. The doctor has appealed against the suspension and denies criminal liability. The case is constantly growing in scope. New women contact the police every week. For the time being, more than 50 women will be questioned in the case, the police told news. Right to speak Nilsen believes his client should have been given the opportunity to explain himself in an interview. Now the doctor experiences being silenced in the press without being allowed to speak. – As the accused in a criminal case, you have a right to oppose the accusation. He has not been given the opportunity to do so. And I think that in a case like this, with such a scope, it is only natural that there will be more interrogations, says Nilsen. Law professor Asbjørn Strandbakken at the University of Bergen believes it is important that the doctor’s version does not come too late. It is useful to know which control questions to ask those who consider themselves offended in the case, explains the law professor. – It is the police who manage the progress of the investigation. But I think that once you have charged the person in question, and a certain extent of the case has been clarified, it would have been natural to obtain his version, and not put it off until the end, says Strandbakken to news. Extra burden for the women Aid attorney Camilla Hagen represents several of the women who have been called in for questioning by the police in this case. – For the injured parties whom I represent, it is an additional burden in the case that the doctor has not yet been interviewed. They want progress in the investigation, says Hagen to news. The clients say that it is a strain that they have learned through the media that the police do not intend to question the accused until the end of October, Hagen points out. – They feel that the media’s spotlight is a further burden. It is worrisome that they do not ensure that the accused gets to explain himself, and gets his voice heard. From this side, they had wanted silence and calm around the investigation. Even though the women are anonymised, they feel identified in their local environment when the cases are mentioned in the media, explains aid lawyer Camilla Hagen. She represents several of the women who have told their stories to the police. Photo: Eivind Aabakken / news Police: 15 people are working on the case The investigation is very resource-intensive, explains investigation manager Mari Ellen Marie Burheim in Trøndelag police district. Now 15 people are working with the case at the police. They have constantly had to staff up to be able to handle all interrogations. – So far we have received 43 reviews. In addition, we have 10–15 women who want to explain themselves, says Burheim to news. She confirms that it is only appropriate for the police to question the accused doctor at the end of October. – Of course, we understand that many people think it takes a long time. We have chosen not to question him yet for the reason that it is a matter of confidentiality. The head of the investigation explains that the police must be exempt from the duty of confidentiality for those being questioned. Going forward, the police will question more people who want to talk. New names keep appearing every week, says investigation manager Ellen Marie Burheim in Trøndelag police district. Photo: Tariq Alisubh / news Must have the help of experts The investigators have to know on what basis they will question him, explains Burheim. – We are talking about things that have happened in connection with alleged treatment. The police want experts to help assess whether there is a treatment situation, or whether it is a criminal case as the victims believe it to be. – Since all the women you have questioned have lifted their confidentiality obligations: have the police started going through any of the patient records? – No, we are in the process of obtaining those records. We have sent an inquiry to the municipality and made an agreement when they will be picked up and how they will be handed over to us. Fear of prejudgment On 24 August, the municipality in question set up a contact telephone number for all those affected in the case. It was started in collaboration between the police, the State Administrator, Nok and RVTS. The accused doctor believes this contact telephone is very problematic. This is revealed in a letter that was sent to the Norwegian Health Authority on 29 August, where the doctor and his lawyer dispute the basis on which he had his authorization temporarily revoked. The doctor believes that the establishment of the contact phone “has inflated the case” and that it “can contribute to pre-judgment and, not least via psychological mechanisms, contribute to a lower threshold/increased motivation to complain”. Defense attorney Erlend Hjulstad Nilsen believes that the contact telephone may violate the legal security of the accused doctor. – The extent to which the municipality has assessed the legal security of my client in connection with the establishment of that helpline is unknown to me. There you can potentially have such big challenges. – In what way? – It’s about reception. Who receives this information? How it is treated. There is no knowledge of that here, says Nilsen. The municipal director has been presented with this criticism. – We do not wish to comment on this at the present time, he writes in an e-mail to news. Do you have something to tell? We would like to hear from you if you have anything to say about this matter. Perhaps you would like to have a non-binding chat with one of our journalists who works on this? Send us an e-mail or contact us encrypted via Signal or WhatsApp on 97 46 52 52. Accusations against the municipal superintendent over several years. Among other things, the doctor is said to have offered clitoral massage. news is sitting on information about a woman who claims to have been subjected to many abuses by the municipal superintendent from 2014 until 2022. According to the woman, there should be a dozen abuses in this period. Some of the assaults are said to have taken place after working hours at the office of the municipal superintendent. news is aware that the woman has told her story to the police. A woman felt harassed and violated during a doctor’s appointment. The patient went to the doctor to check the wrist, but is said to have been felt on the bottom. She sent a complaint about the doctor to the then County Commissioner (State Administrator) – who believed that the case should be resolved through a so-called local clarification. The doctor had a meeting with the woman and then the County Governor closed the case. news is aware that at least 12 complaints have been received against the doctor to the State Administrator since November 2021. On 1 August 2022 it became known that the Norwegian Health Inspectorate has temporarily suspended the authorization of the doctor. The doctor has appealed against the suspension. The police have received dozens of inquiries about the doctor. On 24 August, it became known that he has been charged under Section 295 of the Criminal Code, for abusing his position to obtain sexual intercourse. The doctor denies criminal guilt. Show more
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Municipal superintendent accused of assault a month ago – he has still not been questioned by the police – news Trøndelag
