This is reported by the police in a press release on Monday.
– The charge concerns attempted rape of children under 14, attempted sexual intercourse with children between 14 and 16, exploitation of one’s position to achieve sexual intercourse, sexual acts against children under 16 and possession of child abuse material, the police report .
– Very serious
In front of Dagbladet, the police prosecutor in the East police district, Martin Gautestad Jakobsen, classifies this as a “very serious” case.
– Both with regard to the criminal offense that the man is suspected of, but also his position and the way he has come into contact with the victims, indicate that this case is very serious, he tells Dagbladet.
So far, four victims have been identified in the case.
– Do you expect that number to rise?
– We are investigating with that as a current possibility, replies police attorney Jakobsen. He elaborates:
– The investigation is aimed both at the treatment he has given in his current employment, and previous employment and other organizations and businesses. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that there may be more victims.
The man has been employed as a therapist at several businesses that have provided treatment and care for children and young people.
Several of the conditions he is charged with, including attempted rape and sexual intercourse, are connected to his work, the police say.
Long period
Sille Heidar is defending the accused psychologist. She informs Dagbladet that he denies criminal guilt.
The charge applies to both a municipality in Østfold and businesses in Vestfold.
Three of the victims identified by the police are linked to his current workplace in Østfold. The last victim is the man accused of taking advantage of his position to obtain sexual intercourse in the period January 2016 to December 2017.
The police are not ruling out more victims in the case.
– During this period he was employed in a child protection institution. The charge extends over a long period of time. We cannot rule out that there will be other criminal offenses between the two periods, from 2016 until today. The investigation must return to that, says Jakobsen.
In the press release, the police state that they are in dialogue with the municipality where the man works, and have shared and received information about possible affected persons in the case.
Contacted by the municipality
– The municipality has contacted relevant patients who have been treated by the man, and is looking after affected people who need it, the press release states, the police write.
It was on 12 April that the police were contacted by the municipality in Østfold, that they had information about a possible criminal relationship in the course of treatment with one victim, explains the police attorney.
The police then went into action, arresting the man in his 40s, searching and then imprisoning him.
At his current workplace, the man has provided treatment for children and families, with children down to primary school age and up to upper secondary school age.
