Reported defense employee in Bodø for abuse

Military vehicles Værnes airbase defense employeeMilitary vehicles parked at Værnes airbase during a maintenance exercise. Illustration photo. Forsvaret.no

Six men have reported defense employee in Bodø for abuse

After a man who has been working for the Armed Forces in Bodø in January was charged with rape by a man in his twenties, another five insulted have stepped forward and reported the defense employee to the police.

 

All of the insulted are men who have worked together with the accused, and all are men in their twenties, Avisa Nordland writes.

– It is the same modus operandi where all may have been exposed to sexual abuse of different extent, says police counselor in Nordland police district, Alf-Anton Røst, to the newspaper.

When the man was arrested and charged in January, The police announced that they suspected the man of assault against several other named victims.

Colonel Lieutenant at the Armed Forces operating headquarters,  Ivar Moen, has stated that they became aware of the issue through several notifications received just before Christmas. The accused man was immediately suspended from his position.

Attempt to solve internally

According to lawyer a who represents one of the insulted, Kristin Fagerheim Hammervik, the Armed Forces originally wanted to resolve the case internally.

– Without wishing to go into details, I can confirm that the case was attempted to  be solved internally by the Armed Forces by a decision of an “internal ban on visits” combined with an apology from the aggressor, says Hammervik, adding that it was the management of the relevant department that oversaw the process between the abuser and the offended who wanted to solve it in that manner.

– There was never talk of the Armed Forces to report the matter to the police as my client perceived the situation. But he was told by his immediate superior that if he wished to report the matter to the police, he would be backed by him in the process, she says.

Both the Air Force and the Armed Forces operating headquarters have been made aware of the matter, but do not want to comment on it except that measures have been initiated to gather facts and that they are in a good dialogue with the police.

– The accused man does not admit to be guilty, according to his lawyer, Tor Haug .

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today