Norway has been rocked by a sexual abuse case described as the biggest scandal of its kind in the country's history, involving the shady activities of a gynecologist on trial for raping dozens of women over a 20-year period.
According to the Daily Mail, gynecologist Arne Bye, 55, who worked for many years at the municipal clinic in the small town of Frosta, is accused of raping 87 women and videotaping the sexual assaults that took place in his clinic and the homes of his victims.
Bye faces charges of abusing his position to have sexual contact with a total of 94 women, including two underage girls. His oldest victim was 67 years old, while the youngest victims were 14 and 15 years old.
The defendant has pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and 35 counts of abuse of power and faces 21 years in prison.
Shocking evidence and video
Police have seized more than 6000 hours of footage, most of which is of gynecological examinations recorded without the patients' knowledge.
According to the indictment, Bye allegedly used objects such as a "deodorant," a "bottle," and an unspecified cylindrical object during these examinations, without medical justification.
In her testimony in court in Trøndelag, a woman described her experience as extremely painful, saying she “thought she was going to die.”
Another woman, referred to as "victim 18" in the lawsuit, testified last Wednesday that she had visited the doctor for a sore throat, but ended up getting a gynecological exam, even though she had no symptoms that warranted one.
A shocked community
Frosta, a small town of just 2600 residents, has been shocked by this case, as Bye was for many years a prominent figure in the local community and a doctor for many residents.
During the trial, "detailed" gruesome videos made by the gynecologist himself were presented as evidence, with prosecutor Richard Haugen Lyng emphasizing that it is precisely these recordings of the attacks that make the case so special.
Bye claimed in court that he recorded out of fear of lawsuits from patients and that he had never viewed the footage before he was eventually asked to do so for trial purposes.
According to local media, the video related to "victim 18" shows the doctor installing cameras before examining the woman.
The first complaint of inappropriate behavior by the gynecologist was made in 2006 by another doctor at Levanger Hospital, who had been visited by a former patient of the 55-year-old to seek further medical help.
The woman later told her doctor that Bye had massaged her genitals during her examination. Despite her claims that other women had had similar experiences, Bye denied everything and suffered no sanctions.
Police launched an investigation into the gynecologist's actions in 2022, following new complaints made through health services. Bye continued to work normally until he was charged in 2023.
Despite the serious charges Bye faces, he has not been arrested, with authorities saying they are monitoring the situation and there is currently no reason for his immediate arrest.
