Increased penalty for assaults against two daughters

A man had been convicted of a series of assaults against his two daughters, committed over a long period. The Court of Appeal had set the sentence to 8 years and 6 months of imprisonment. The Public Prosecution Authority appealed against the sentence to the Supreme Court. The main issue was how the aggregate sentence should be determined in cases of assault against two aggrieved persons.

The Supreme Court noted that it is common to first determine the penalty for the total of assaults against each of the aggrieved persons, as such an approach would highlight the violations to which each of them had been subjected. Next, an overall assessment had to be made based on the increased penalty principle. The increased penalty principle means that the penalty level for the most serious offense is first determined, before an addition is made for the other offences the defendant has committed. 

When determining the additional penalty in cases involving two aggrieved persons, the courts, as with sentencing in general, have considerable discretion. However, the Supreme Court found that the additional penalty had to constitute a significant portion of the penalty that the assaults against the other aggrieved person would have given in isolation. There will rarely be grounds for setting the addition lower than half of the baseline penalty, and often it must be set higher.

In this case, the Court of Appeal had estimated the penalty level for the assaults against each of the daughters to be slightly over 7 years of imprisonment. An aggregate sentence of 8 years and 6 months was therefore too low. The Supreme Court estimated the penalty level for the assaults against the daughters to slightly over 7 years for one and 6 years for the other. The total aggregate sentence was set to 10 years and 6 months of imprisonment.

The judgment provides guidance on sentencing in cases of sexual assault, particularly in cases where an aggregate sentence for assaults against several aggrieved persons is to be determined.

Read the judgment from the Supreme Court (Norwegian only) (PDF)

Area of law: Criminal law, sentencing

Key paragraphs: 17, 38–39

Justices: Indreberg, Bull, Bergh, Hellerslia, Lund