A man in his 20s is accused of sexually abusing Mille Hjalmarsen. According to the indictment, the incident must have happened in May 2022, half a year before the twins Mille Andrea and Mina Alexandra Hjalmarsen were found dead in an apartment in Spydeberg. A man has been charged with negligent homicide in connection with the deaths.
Before the twins were found dead in January 2023, they had run away several times, and got high while they were gone. They had also tried to take their own lives a number of times with various drugs.
They had also explained to the police that they were abused by, among others, the accused man.
– My client denies criminal guilt. He hopes that the court will believe him, and that he will be acquitted, says the man’s defender Magnus Torfoss to Nettavisen.
In mid-May 2022, Mina and Mille had escaped from a child welfare institution. Mother Kirsti Skogsholm tells Nettavisen that the girls lived with the man, and that they got high there. According to the indictment, the man took advantage of the girls’ vulnerable situation, by getting them drugs, letting them get high, and then abusing one of the girls.
The man was initially charged with abuse of both girls, but the police have dropped the charges relating to Mina Hjalmarsen,
– That dismissal was absolutely correct, and we hope that he will also be cleared of the other charges, says defender Torfoss.
The twins’ parents have complained about the closure to the Attorney General.
– We knew where they were
The twins Mina and Mille were active on social media. The mother could thus follow where the girls were, even if they had run away. Still, she couldn’t do anything.
– We knew where Mille and Mina were this evening. We had the address of this man and knew that they got high there, but we couldn’t go in ourselves and pick them up. We had to get help from the police, says mother Kirsti Skogsholm to Nettavisen.
– We went to the police and tried to get them to pick up the girls, but the police didn’t want to do anything, she says.
She says that the police did not want to intervene, because they had to know that there was a high probability that they were exposed to danger.
– They asked if Mille and Mina could stay with a friend. They were 15 years old and had drug problems. He was close to 30 years old and sold drugs. Then there must be a high probability that they could be exposed to something, says Skogsholm today.
– Did you consider picking up the girls in Oslo yourself?
– I saw what they posted on TikTok. These were heavy, criminal environments. I didn’t find it safe to do it myself, says Skogsholm to Nettavisen.
Convicted of assault on Mina
The man’s defender, Magnus Torfoss, does not want to deny or confirm whether the girls were in the apartment.
– I do not want to prejudge my client’s explanation in court, he says to Nettavisen.
After the alleged stay in the apartment, the twins traveled on by train to Gjøvik. A man has previously been convicted of abusing Mina Hjalmarsen on this train. The man had given the twins drugs before the incident.
Read your own case: Mina (15) was sexually abused on the train just months before she died
In connection with reporting on the sentence for the assault on the train, Nettavisen asked the police for a comment on Skogsholm having asked the police to pick up the girls in the apartment. The police did not want to comment on this specifically. You can read more of the police’s general comments in this case. Last autumn, the special unit launched an investigation into the police’s work with the two girls. This work is not finished.
– Need major changes
The twins Mille Andrea and Mina Alexandra developed eating disorders in their early teens. Eventually, the girls began to develop self-destructive behaviour, and the child welfare services were involved. The mother says that the girls came into contact with drugs at child protection institutions, and developed an addiction.
In February 2024, the State Administrator concluded that the twins had not received proper health care. You can read your own story about it here.
In the documentary series Instukids from NRK Brennpunkt, it is revealed how many young people, like Mina and Mille, start getting high when they arrive at a child welfare institution. Among the reasons is that the institutions are often unable to offer safe adults who can build relationships with the young people who need help.
– We are losing young people whom we are supposed to protect and provide care for, and actually rescue, said Erik Stene, head of the Child Welfare Institution Committee on Dagsnytt 18 on Wednesday. The committee submitted its report on the state of child welfare institutions in October (you can read it here).
– This is a situation we unfortunately know all too well, said Acting Children’s Ombudsman Ivar Stokkereit on Dagsnytt 18. You can read more about what the Children’s Ombudsman thinks about the institutions, here.
– Now we have to do something other than ordering reports. The problems have been there for many years, and we must do something concrete. If I had been given the opportunity, I would have liked to have worked on creating arrangements that provide a good and safe framework for these young people, says mother Skogsholm to Nettavisen. In Dagsnytt 18 linked above, she said that the same problems were pointed out in reports in 2010.
– It is so strange that we are still sitting and having this discussion, she said.
– Do you think there will be a change?
– I have to say “yes” I believe in change. We cannot give up, she says to Nettavisen.
