Ninth man convicted of abuse against 'Kristoffer' – two years and ten months
A man in his 30s has been sentenced to two years and ten months in prison for sexual abuse of a boy known as 'Kristoffer'. The sentence is far more severe than the eight previous convictions in the case.
Man in his 30s receives harshest sentence in the case complex
A man in his 30s has been sentenced to two years and ten months in prison for sexual abuse of the complainant, whom NRK Norge refers to as 'Kristoffer'. The verdict was handed down by Haugaland and Sunnhordland district court on Stord, and is substantially more severe than the prosecutor's request had indicated – two years and three months.
The man has additionally been ordered to pay 290,000 kroner in compensation to the complainant.
"I am very satisfied with the district court's verdict," says state prosecutor Folke Åmlid, who was the prosecutor in the case.
None of the eight men previously convicted in the case complex had received sentences longer than 11 months, and none had been ordered to pay more than 80,000 kroner in compensation.
Abuse of a child under 14 years
The reason for the substantially more severe sentence is that the man has been convicted of abuse committed against the complainant before he turned 14 years old. In Norwegian law, sexual intercourse with a child under 14 years is classified as rape, which carries a higher sentencing level.
Kristoffer was just over 13 years old when the first abuse is believed to have occurred in spring 2021. The man has additionally been convicted of two further offences in 2022. He admitted to all three matters in his first interrogation in autumn 2024.
Kristoffer's legal representative, Sigurd Klomsæt, is satisfied that the sentencing level is now increasing in the case complex.
"I have argued all along that the sentencing level has been too low, so this is satisfactory," he says.
The man's defence counsel, Christina Winsor, declines to comment on the case to NRK. In district court, she argued that the prosecutor's request was too harsh.
Sentence reduction for lengthy case processing time
It is evident from the verdict that the man could in principle have received a substantially more severe sentence. His admission resulted in a reduction of one year and three months. Additionally, the sentence was reduced by a further seven months due to lengthy case processing time by the police.
Kristoffer reported the man as early as March 2023, and gave a statement about him in interrogation the following month. The police did not arrest him until autumn 2024. After that, it took over a year for the interrogation to be reviewed, when the man admitted criminal responsibility.
Klomsæt remains scathing in his criticism of the police's and prosecution authority's handling of the case complex.
"The sentence reduction has been applied because the case has taken far too long," he says.
"The police's handling of this case complex has been scandalous," says Klomsæt, who among other things submitted NRK's articles about the case in the evidence list.
State prosecutor Åmlid, for his part, considers the reduction to be correct.
"The reduction for time spent is as proposed by the prosecution authority. It is regrettable for the complainant and the defendant that the time spent has become somewhat too long, and it is entirely correct for the district court to make a reduction when determining the sentence," he says.
Tenth indictment and two more suspects
At the same time as verdict nine is now handed down, charges have been brought against a tenth man for abuse against Kristoffer. The defendant, also in his 30s, is suspected of abuse in spring 2022, when Kristoffer was 14 years old. That case is scheduled to be heard by Haugaland and Sunnhordland district court in the autumn.
In addition, two men remain suspects for abuse against Kristoffer. A total of 12 men were reported for abuse in the case complex.
Source: NRK Norge