Passive contribution to child abuse
Supreme Court judgment 26 June 2020, HR-2020-1343-A, (case no. 20-026386STR-HRET), criminal case, appeal against judgment.
A (Counsel Øystein Ola Storrvik) v. The Public Prosecution Authority (Counsel Andreas Schei)
Justices: Matningsdal, Matheson, Bergsjø, Falch, Steinsvik
The Court of Appeal had convicted a father of passive contribution to aggravated abuse of two infants, see sections 283, cf. section 282 of the Penal Code. He had been absent when the children were abused, but knew that the abuse had taken place. The Supreme Court stated that the obligation to act under the Penal Code requires that the care persons knows or at least holds it as likely that the abuse is going on. Conviction for contribution to aggravated abuse requires likewise that the person is familiar with the circumstances that makes the abuse aggravated. The defendant had breached his obligation to act, as he had understood that the mother's aggravated abuse of the children would continue if he did not interfere, also when it came to the basis for conviction under section 283 of the Penal Code. The defendant's appeal against the Court of Appeal's procedure and application of the law was dismissed.