A municipal chief physician in Trøndelag has been suspended by the Norwegian Health Authority after a number of warnings. He is also charged by the police with abusing his position to obtain sexual intercourse. The doctor has appealed against the suspension and denies criminal liability. He has not been questioned either. New accusations from the 90s Social assistance lawyer Camilla Hagen states that around ten women have so far approached her with similar experiences. Among them is a woman who talks about unpleasant experiences with the doctor in the 1990s. The first case concerning the municipal superintendent that has been known so far was from 2006. – It concerns force majeure related to abdominal examinations and perceived sexual behavior on the part of the doctor, says Hagen to news. According to Hagen, the person in question must have reacted to information relating to the supervision case against the same doctor in 2006, and a complaint against the doctor in 2017. She will not elaborate on what the client has reacted to. The accused’s defense attorney, Erlend Hjulstad Nilsen, will not comment on the notices that assistance lawyer Hagen tells about. – The accused has so far not been questioned. Individual cases and inquiries relating to specific information from patients, the municipality or the Norwegian Health Authority will therefore not be commented on, says Nilsen. This applies both for the sake of complying with the doctor’s statutory duty of confidentiality and for the sake of the ongoing investigation, explains the defender. Lawyer Camilla Hagen at the law firm Andenæs Aaløkken Veum. Photo: AAV – Experiencing guilt and shame Hagen emphasizes that it is important to distinguish between the ethical and medical license-related conditions – that is, the civil law track – and which conditions fall under the criminal law. These must be taken care of by various agencies, says the aid lawyer. – It is a challenge in the case that the police have not questioned the suspect yet. I will not contribute to pre-trial proceedings in the media. The police must be given the peace to complete the investigation and obtain explanations, says Hagen. The welfare advocate says that the women she is in contact with tell about experiences with the doctor that have been unpleasant, embarrassing, frightening and with sexual overtones. – It is a consistent feature of the case that the victims feel guilt and shame over their own reaction to the doctor’s behaviour. They convey that the suspect is a government official whom one thinks society and themselves should have confidence in and not oppose. Some people have reacted by changing their GP or are reluctant to meet the doctor alone later, she says and continues: – The core is the force majeure relationship – you don’t report it. This is repeated in the stories. In several of the alleged cases, the women do not understand what has happened until they have been to other doctors. In addition, they stood undressed in positions that are not at all compatible with how this type of examination is done and there is a sexual reaction on the part of the doctor, claims Hagen. The police have spoken to 80 women, 32 women have so far been questioned or called in for questioning in the near future, the police inform news. All of these have the status of offended in the case. This means that the police suspect that something criminal may have happened to them. In total, the police have spoken to 80 women. – Our most important task is to find out whether the incidents we are notified about are punishable or not. Among other things, we need help from experts there, says investigative leader Ellen Mari Burheim to news. They are therefore now using large resources to remove all the interrogations. Among the women the police have or will question, there are no cases dating back to the 90s. But the head of the investigation says she knows that there must be a notification about it. Whether these cases are outdated or not they do not take into account now. – We are talking to everyone who has something to say in this phase of the investigation, says Burheim. Investigation manager Ellen Mari Burheim in Trøndelag police district. Photo: Tariq Alisubh / news That is why the doctor has not been questioned When asked why the accused doctor will only be questioned at the end of October, she replies that they first want to have clarity on which cases may be punishable and that it takes time. They have also already had the duty of confidentiality lifted for several of the women so that they can ask the accused doctor about them. – We do not think it is appropriate to question the doctor about some of the notifications. That is why we are waiting until we have an overview of all the matters we want to question him about, says Burheim. The accused’s defender, Erlend Hjulstad Nilsen, says that it is tough for his client not to be able to explain himself to the police, or explain his version of what comes to light in the public eye. But he cannot do that. According to Nilsen, they can also spoil the investigation by commenting on the notifications, which they do not want. The municipal director informs news that they have received 10 new inquiries this week about the municipal superintendent in Trøndelag accused of abuse. In total, they have received over 80 inquiries since the municipality set up the contact phone. 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. The accused’s defender, Erlend Hjulstad Nilsen, at the law firm Levangeradvokatene. Photo: Vegard Woll / news 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 against the doctor have been received by the State Administrator since November 2021. On 1 August it became known that the Norwegian Health Inspectorate has temporarily suspended the doctor’s authorization. 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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New accusations all the way back to the 90s – news Trøndelag
