One year and four months of imprisonment for sexual assault not involving intercourse

The penalty for violation of section 291 (b) of the Penal Code was set to one year and four months of imprisonment. The convicted person had masturbated by holding the hand of a sleeping woman of the same age around his penis. When sentencing, the starting point was that the act was aggravated and had to be punished strictly. However, the offence was considered to be at the lower end of what constitutes sexual activity according to section 291. There had been no touching of the genitals of the aggrieved person or other intimate places on her body. The convicted person had also not ejaculated, and the contact between his penis and the aggrieved person's hand was  brief. The fact that four years had passed before the aggrieved person reported the offence was also considered a slightly mitigating factor.

Read the whole judgment (Norwegian only)

Key paragraphs: 23, 33, 35

Area of law: Criminal law. Section 291 (b) and section 78 (e) of the Penal Code. 

Justices: Webster, Normann, Høgetveit Berg, Sæther, Remen