Male charged with with luring 49 children

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Male charged with with luring 49 children for sexual gratification – has apologized in court

A 27-year-old male suspect from Bergen is charged with luring 48 girls and one boy between 10 and 15 years on the internet. – “I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” he said in court.

 

Tuesday,  the trial against the man began in Bergen District Court. The prosecutor, Cathrine Krohn,  spent 53 minutes reading the list of charges and indictments, writes Bergens Tidende.

“The list of indictments is massive,” she said in her opening statement.

The man has lured 25 girls aged 10 to 15 years to display themselves naked in front of a webcam. According to the charges, several of the children were also lured into performing sexual acts with themselves while the man watched, NRK reports.

The same man tried to deceive another 19 girls aged 11 to 15 but they said no when he asked them to undress. Five children, four girls and one boy, aged 12 to 15, have been exposed to sexualized chatting by the man without being encouraged to get undressed.

The accused man regretted his actions in court

The number of reported cases in Western Norway in terms of sexual intercourse with children under 14 increased by 134 percent from 2016 to 2017.

Deputy Chief Constable of the West Police District, Ida Melbo Øystese, believes this may involve several cases.

– One online predator can reach a very large amount of children over the internet, and these cases often can yield a large ripple effect. We have also noticed that several more people are reporting sexual abuse in general, including those that have not occured over the internet.

Corresponding figures for the country show an increase of 18.4 percent in the same period, according to the police’s annual report that was issued last week.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today