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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Politician indicted for sexual assault

A politician for the Conservative Party who’s held a seat on a local town council in Hordaland County, western Norway, has been indicted on charges he repeatedly assaulted a young girl from 2010 until 2012. His trial is due to get underway in December.

Bergen-based website BA.no reported that the politician, who in line with Norwegian press tradition has not been identified, is charged with assaulting the girl from time she was 11 to 13 years old. The alleged assaults are believed to have taken place at the politician’s home and at other locations over the two-year period. The girl reportedly was a neighbour of the defendant.

“My client denies he’s criminally liable,” his defense attorney Lars Christian Sunde told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). “Beyond that I don’t want to comment further at this point in time.”

The defendant has held an elected position on his town council in Hordaland and has been active in local youth organizations. He reportedly has failed to attend political meetings in recent months.

The man faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of sexual relations with a child under the age of 14. Liv Kari Eskeland, leader of his branch of the Conservative Party, Hordaland Høyre, said he’d informed the party of the looming charges against him last year.

“Now it’s important for the prosecutors to do their job,” Eskeland said. “It’s important that none of us others convict him prior to any verdict.”

newsinenglish.no staff

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