A local doctor in Norway’s rural and historic community of Frosta was re-arrested and jailed right after his lengthy court case ended this week. Police took him into custody on the grounds it would defy the public’s sense of justice if he were allowed to go free while awaiting the court’s decision in his case.
His sentence is expected to be severe, with prosecutors contending that Arne Bye deserves at least 21 years in jail. He’s charged with exploiting his role as a doctor in order to have what are widely viewed as sexual relations with at least 94 defenseless patients during gynecological exams. At least 84 of the women he assaulted in various ways were also victims of what prosecutors contend was statutory rape.
Bye, who also filmed many of the examinations that prosecutors claim amounted to assaults and rapes, has changed his story in several of the cases and even admitted that many were rapes. He initially admitted to three rapes, but as his case progressed and evidence was produced, he changed that to 21.
Police and prosecutors want to keep Bye in custody until his sentence is announced in June. Bye’s defense attorneys did not contest the custody decision of eight weeks, which can be extended in April, but contend their client should be found not guilty on 50 of the rape charges against him. They think a jail term of 17 to 18 years in jail would be sufficient.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
