In 1994, he and two comrades were blamed for the death of five-year-old Silje Marie Redergård. She was found partially undressed and abused in the snow in a toboggan run at Tiller in Trondheim. The following day, the police in Trondheim concluded that three boys aged 4, 5 and 6 were behind it. Even though they were too young to be tried, the case still had major consequences for the boys. Among other things, Trondheim municipality took over the care of both the 5-year-old and the 6-year-old a few years after what the municipality calls the “Tiller case”. Now a committee has looked at the child protection agency’s treatment of the two boys. The report was presented to the politicians in Trondheim on Tuesday morning. Two of the three boys embrace each other after the public prosecutor informed them that they are now to be considered innocent. Photo: Ole Jørgen Kolstadbråten / news May have been harmed by treatment The committee finds nothing objectionable in how the 6-year-old was followed up. But the 5-year-old was exposed to things he may have been harmed by and deserves an apology, the report says. – Child protection has apologized to me all my life. So an apology means nothing to me, says the five-year-old to news. Both boys were placed in foster care following the incident at Tiller in 1994. Among other things, the 5-year-old was exposed to “experiential learning” in order to develop impulse control and better empathize with other people’s feelings and experiences. This consisted, among other things, of several interventions. – This must have been experienced as unpleasant for B (the 5-year-old journ.anm.) and probably caused him extra stress, the report states. Furthermore, it says: – In the committee’s view, this method must be characterized as testing and experimental. Use of the method must be considered objectionable and possibly harmful. One example, discussed in the report, states that the five-year-old had beaten other children in the nursery. He was then taken into a room where an adult is “physically and verbally harsh” towards the five-year-old. Threats were also allegedly made against him to try and get him to understand how other children experienced the five-year-old’s behaviour. Another time, the five-year-old had jumped on the stomach of another. He was then taken into a room and explained that others think it hurts. It was pressed hard against the ribs and Solar Plexus to produce discomfort in the five-year-old. Professor of psychology, Tine Jensen, has read the reports. She concluded that the treatment was violence against children and an abuse of the boy. – This is not something I remember myself. But I think it’s good to acknowledge it and hope they can follow this up further, says the five-year-old. In addition, he was taken six times to the toboggan run where Silje was found dead and to her grave. The committee has chosen not to criticize this as the five-year-old himself took the initiative for this. – Based on the fact that there was very little knowledge base that said anything about what was the right approach to the current problem, there is no basis for criticizing this method of approach based on the then principles for crisis psychological treatment of traumatic experiences, the report states. The five-year-old reacts to that. – I am very surprised that they put it on me. As long as it was me who wanted to go to the grave and the crime scene, it was fine. I think that twisting is horrible, says the five-year-old. The six-year-old is disappointed The man, who is referred to as the six-year-old, was present when the politicians in Trondheim were handed the report to the committee today. – I think the five-year-old in the case gets a perfectly valid apology, he says to news. He is disappointed that the municipality does not take any self-criticism in the way he was treated by the child welfare services as a child. – In my case, what has happened over the years is not as well documented. Here, the committee has only dealt with what is documented in writing and has not taken into account our statements, he continues. Together with his lawyer, he will attend a meeting with the municipality on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the report. – Then we get to go through the things we think are the most important points that we think are wrong. Then we’ll see how the municipality responds to that, – Ruined life The police’s investigation has been heavily criticized afterwards. The interrogations of the boys and the fact that the police concluded that the boys were behind the death after only one day of investigation. – Since I was 6 years old, I have had a stamp on me as a murderer. I have had to live with this almost my whole life, the six-year-old told news earlier. It all ended with the case being investigated again. The conclusion was that it could not be proven that the boys were behind it and that they must therefore be seen as innocent. By then the boys had lived with the stamp as murderers for 28 years. For the five-year-old, the case and the treatment he received afterwards have also had serious consequences. The lawyer for the five-year-old, Johannes Wegner Mæland, says it is important for his client to receive compensation to make it possible to move on in life. Photo: Ole Jørgen Kostadbråthen / news – It was decisive for him developing serious drug problems early on. It is just luck that he is alive, the five-year-old’s lawyer, Johannes Wegner Mæland, has said. He did not become drug-free until he was declared innocent by the public prosecutor. – Embellishing the truth Both the two boys are demanding millions in compensation for what they have been subjected to. – For my client, it is important that you can confirm much of what he has experienced. Here is a report that writes down that the things he has explained about, and almost felt he has not been believed, are in fact true, Mæland. He disagrees with several of the municipality’s assessments, but says he will get back to them in a possible compensation case. Mæland is nevertheless happy that the facts are now on the table. He still wished that the committee had been clearer in its criticism of the municipality’s treatment of the five-year-old. – That it is only worthy of criticism, and nothing more than that, I don’t quite know how to comment. It is more than highly objectionable. It is regular violence, says Mæland. He strongly disagrees with the fact that the report refers to the treatment the five-year-old received as “experiential learning” – It is a kind of embellishment of the truth that may be perceived as provocative. But it is certainly a technical term used to defend hair-raising actions, says the lawyer. Wanting to regret – We find reason to regret a relationship, and that is the approach that was used in the nursery towards the one boy. One of four approaches we see is not scientifically justified enough. That’s what director of education and upbringing in Trondheim municipality, Lasse Arntsen, says. He is nevertheless concerned with the report and says that much was done correctly on the part of the child welfare services. – The committee has found that, in the main, good child protection work has been carried out. Arntsen emphasizes that the overall impression of the report means that they are not going to offer financial compensation for what the 5-year-old has experienced. – We will not take the initiative to run any process related to financial compensation. Murder in the toboggan run Illustration: Marius Lubbe / news On 15 October 1994, five-year-old Silje Marie Redergård was found partially undressed, abused and dead in the wet fresh snow on a toboggan run in the Drabant town of Tiller. The following day, the police chief in Trondhjem said that Silje was mistreated and left for dead by three playmates aged four, five and six. Earlier in the day, they should have told in questioning how they themselves or their friends had used serious violence against Silje. In the documentary series “Murder in the sledge”, news Brennpunkt has gone through the police documents together with a number of experts. The experts conclude that there is no technical evidence that the boys were behind the crimes against Silje, and that they were subjected to illegal interrogations and pressure. After considering the case and what emerges in the documentary series, the public prosecutor in Trøndelag, Bjørn Kristian Soknes, asked the police to start a new investigation. In February, the state attorney concluded that the boys are innocent in the case.
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Trondheim municipality has investigated the child protection agency’s treatment of the boys in the Silje case – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
