A former village doctor is on trial in Norway, accused of raping 87 women and filming the attacks in his practice and in their homes over the course of two decades, in what is being described as the biggest sex abuse scandal in the history of the country.
Arne Bye, 55, is accused of abusing his position to solicit sexual contact from a total of 94 women, including two who were children at the time of the alleged assaults.
The oldest woman was 67 years old when she was allegedly raped youngest alleged victims were 14 and 15 years old.
Bye, a former municipal inspector, has pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and 35 counts of abuse of power and faces up to 21 years in prison.
Police seized more than 6,000 hours of video footage during their investigation, most of which were recordings of gynecological examinations carried out on patients without their knowledge, which investigators described as ‘sensitive and detailed’.
According to the indictment, Bye allegedly inserted a “deodorant-like,” a “bottle-like” and a cylindrical object into the women for no medical reason.
In shocking testimony before the court in Trøndelag, one woman said the experience had been so painful “that I thought I was going to die.”
Woman number 18, as she is called during the trial, told the court on Wednesday that she had gone to the doctor’s practice with a sore throat before the invasive examination.
Arne Bye, 55, is accused of abusing his position to obtain sexual contact with a total of 94 women
Bye’s practice, where most of the ‘investigations’ took place and he set up cameras
The small town with only 2,600 inhabitants has been shocked by the shocking case
Despite the nature of her ailment, she said she was eventually examined in her underwear on the couch. reportedly telling the court, “I thought he was my doctor, so I did what he said.”
The women each described unpleasant, invasive experiences during the gynecological exams, with many saying Bye gave them an “abdominal massage.”
The complaint describes how the actions “occurred quickly and unexpectedly” during a gynecological examination at the doctor’s office in Frosta.
The small town of just 2,600 residents has been rocked by the shocking case, with Bye serving as both a public figure and doctor to hundreds of residents for years.
During the lengthy trial, the court was shown graphic video evidence, all recorded by Bye during the exams.
‘We have video recordings of the attack itself. In that sense, we have a rather special evidentiary situation in this case, in that large parts of the indictment are illustrated with video material, says the prosecutor,” said State Attorney Richard Haugen Lyng.
Bye claimed in court that he filmed appointments because he feared lawsuits from patients, and claims he never watched the videos except in connection with the case.
According to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, the video in woman number 18’s case shows Bye positioning several cameras before beginning to examine her.
The audio of the clip shows Bye asking the woman if it’s painful, at one point warning her that “this is going to hurt.”
Bye initially insisted to investigators that his investigation into woman number 18 was not of a sexual nature. But when NRK took the witness stand on Wednesday, he reported that he partially admitted the rape accusation.
According to the indictment, Bye allegedly injected a “deodorant-like” substance into a number of women
Bye is also said to have used a cylindrical object during the examinations, without there being a medical reason for this
The 19th woman who took the witness stand during the trial said he ordered her several times to sit in the gynecologist’s chair, even though she had previously had no abdominal complaints.
She reportedly said that Bye’s examinations “took a long time” and that they had all been painful.
The woman’s daughter and sister are also believed to be among the alleged victims in the case.
The first concerns about Bye were raised as early as 2006 by another doctor in the gynecology department of the local hospital in nearby Levanger.
One of Bye’s patients, who went to the hospital for further treatment, reported that her doctor massaged her genital area during an examination.
Police seized more than 6,000 hours of video footage during their investigation, most of which were recordings of gynecological examinations performed on patients without their knowledge
Researchers describe the hours of video footage as ‘sensitive and detailed’
She reportedly said other patients had experienced the same thing, but Bye denied the allegations.
Police started their investigation into him in August 2022 after health authorities warned them of possible criminal offences.
Bye was allowed to continue in his post until a police complaint was filed against him in 2023.
Despite the serious allegations against him, Bye has not been taken into custody. Officers say they will continue to monitor the situation, but there is no basis for his arrest at this time. The process continues.