Julio Kopseng got the most severe sentence ever being given for rape

Oslo.Aid lawyer Hege Salomonsen together with police lawyer Andreas Strand (L) and attorney Djordje Borojevic. Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB scanpix

The dancer Julio Kopseng (38) has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for  rape and molestation of a total of 19 women. This is the most severe sentence ever handed down in a rape case in Norway.

– My client does not want to make any comments on the verdict, Kopseng defence counsel Johnny Veum says to the news agency NTB.

He says that he will go over the verdict with his client before they decide whether they will appeal to the Supreme Court of Norway.

In line with the prosecutor’s contention
The sentence of Kopseng passed by the Court of Appeals  on Wednesday, has a minimum term of ten years. The former TV dancer, artist and stripper was in the Court of Appeal convicted of raping 16 women and of the attempted rape of one woman. He had previously been convicted of two rapes.
The sentence passed by the Court of Appeals was based on all the 16 rapes and the one instance of attempted rape .

– Prosecutors are pleased that our claim has been supported by the verdict, and that the court has understood the seriousness and extent and scope of this case,  prosecutor Guro Hansson Bull says.
She also says that the verdict shows that reporting rape can help in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

– It is important to report the rape as soon as possible, but the most important thing is that it is reported in the first place, says Bull.
She says she that to her knowledge courts have never before given such a severe sentence in rape cases.
– This is a clear signal of how serious this case is, Bull says.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today