Norway ObGyn Pleads Guilty To Raping Over 87 Women Over Two Decades

A former doctor in rural Norway is standing trial on charges of raping 87 women over the period of 20 years and filming the act. Arne Bye from Frosta reportedly raped patients aged between 14 and 67 in the operation theatre and their homes. The 55-year-old obstetrician-gynaecologist allegedly abused his position to conduct invasive tests and obtain sexual contact with 94 women, including two who were minors aged 14 and 15 at the time of the alleged assaults, The Sun reported.

Accused Admits Crime

Arne Bye, a former municipal superintendent, has pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and 35 cases of abuse of position and faces up to 21 years in prison. Norwegian police officials seized over 6,000 hours of recordings of "gynaecological examinations" carried out on patients without their knowledge.

According to the indictment, Bye allegedly inserted "deodorant-like", "bottle-like", or cylindrical objects into the women without their consent. One of the survivors, described as Woman Number 18, testified in court that the pain was so excruciating that she felt like she was "going to die".

Woman Number 18 shared shocking details of her experience with Bye in the court on November 20 that she had gone to the doctor's office for a sore throat but she ended up getting examined in her underwear on the bench. "I thought that he is my doctor, so I did as he said," she said.

Her daughter and sister are also among the alleged survivors in the case. The police launched an investigation into Bye’s acts in August 2022 after health authorities alerted them about possible criminal acts. He was allowed to continue in his post until police charges were filed against him in 2023.

Another woman testified that Bye told her to sit in the gynecologist’s chair several times despite not having any abdominal complaints, and described painfully long examinations. The court was shown graphic video evidence, all of which were recorded by the doctor during these invasive examinations.

According to The Sun, State attorney Richard Haugen Lyng said, "We have video recordings of the assault itself. In that sense, we have a rather special evidentiary situation in the case, in that large parts of the indictment are illustrated with video material, says the prosecutor." 

Bye claimed he filmed the appointments as he 'feared lawsuits' from patients and claimed he never watched the videos except those connected with the case. He initially claimed that his examination of Woman Number 18 was not of sexual nature, but later 'partially' admitted to rape charges. 

Bye, a well-known ObGyn in Frosta, has not been remanded in custody despite the rape charges, with officers saying that they will continue to monitor the situation but that there is currently no basis for his arrest as the trial continues. The case has made headlines worldwide.