Fine for serious sex terror
Pestered woman for 16 years - must pay 10,000 kroner
A 43 year old man who sex-terrorized a woman from Nedre Eiker with countless phone calls and letters and postcards over 16 years escapes imprisonment. The Court considers a 10,000 kroner fine is an appropriate punishment. The fact that the man is resident in England is the reason why he is escaping imprisonment. The Court makes no secret of the fact that this punishment is extremely lenient. The charges on which the man has been convicted carry a maximum penalty of up to six months imprisonment.
10,000 fine for 16 years of sex terror
Escaped imprisonment because he lives in England.
A 43 year old convicted of terrorising a woman from Nedre Eiker with countless phone calls and around 200 letters and postcards over 16 years escapes imprisonment. The Court considers a 10,000 kroner fine is an appropriate punishment.
The 43 year old Englishman was fined 10,000 kroner last autumn but refused to pay this.
That concluded the action in the County Court, in which he lost in all respects. The fact that the man is resident in England is the real reason why he is escaping imprisonment. The prosecutor, police inspector Dag Einar Lyngås, opted to ask for a fine instead of imprisonment because extradition from England would be too expensive
Lenient punishment
However, the Court is making no secret of the fact that this punishment is extremely lenient. The charges on which the man has been convicted carry a maximum penalty of up to six months imprisonment, and the Court is of the view that the punishment would normally have been approaching this maximum penalty.
Lawyer Vegard Aaløkken represented the woman in the case, and he has advised his client not to speak to the media. But he confirmed that the woman is pleased that the man has been convicted in the County Court.
"She is first and foremost pleased to have been believed by the Court," Aaløkken told Drammens Tidende. Asked about her reaction to the man not having been sentenced to imprisonment, he replied:
"A stronger reaction would normally have been natural, but she is in full agreement with the Court's remarks. The most important thing for her is that the man has been convicted."
Report on life
The telephone calls, the letters and the postcards to the woman are said to have been marked by in part extremely serious malice. Some of the letters and the postcards, in which the woman is referred to in condescending terms, are also said to have been sent to other private individuals and public and private businesses. The subject matter of the letters was on the whole concerned with her sex life, abortions, suicide attempts and partner's drug abuse.
According to the woman, the man also distributed a 'report' about her to neighbours, friends and relatives. The note began "We can now submit a report about your life" and was his version of her life story.
In Court, the woman explained that it was extremely difficult for her that so many people in her immediate circle had received "the report" from the 43 year old. The fact that some of the content was true only made the whole thing even more difficult for her.
The Englishman and the woman from Nedre Eiker first met over 20 years ago when she was an au pair in Britain. Initially, the contact is said to have been marked by friendliness, and the man was described as charming and eloquent. The woman chose to confide her personal problems in him gradually, and this was how he gained an insight into her life. Over the years, the woman made a number of attempts to prevent the defendant from making contact. Among other things, she obtained a secret address and telephone number, but to no avail. The 43 year old managed to trace her again through a private detective.
"The threats were provoked"
The 43 year old continues to deny culpability for the telephone calls and the letters to the Nedre Eiker woman. His lawyer is of the opinion that everything was provoked by the woman herself.
In Court, lawyer Harald Bjelke Wibye therefore asked for his client to be acquitted. In his view, the response to the provocations is not a good enough reason to convict the Englishman.
In 1990, the woman reported the man for rape. Later, she also appeared in the newspapers and gave an account of his behaviour. The Court nevertheless refused to accept that these are provocations which could exempt the 43 year old from punishment.
In its sentence, the Court states that the rape report was made because in her opinion an assault had taken place and not in order to provoke the defendant. As far as the items in the papers are concerned, these were arranged on the initiative of journalists, and the name of the defendant was not mentioned in the articles.
Lawyer Bjelke Wibye is not satisfied with the sentence, but will for the time being not say anything about a possible appeal. The sentence is in the process of being translated so that the Englishman can read it as well. They will then assess what happens next in this case, but in all likelihood there will be an appeal.
"My client feels he has been wrongfully convicted. He believes the woman's statements are wrong and grossly defamatory. Among other things, the rape report is down to her own unreasonableness", the lawyer said.
In any case, this is not the last time Bjelke Wibye's client and the Nedre Eiker woman have met one another in Court. They are to meet again as early as in January. Then, it is a private criminal case the man has brought against her that is to be dealt with.
