A paedophile molesting a Polish child in Norway remains unpunished

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• The Ordo Iuris Institute is representing a Polish child who fell victim to a paedophile in Norway.

• The Norwegian authority for children – Barnevernet – took the child away from his parents solely on the basis of unverified information about alleged domestic violence.

• The parents managed to get the boy back and left for Poland with him.

• After consulting a psychologist, it turned out that the child was a victim of paedophilia while in foster care in Norway.

• However, the prosecutor’s office refused to initiate proceedings in this case.

• The Ordo Iuris Institute has filed a complaint with the court against the prosecutor’s decision.

The boy was taken from the family home on the basis of unconfirmed information about alleged domestic violence. The parents were deprived of the right to information about the whereabouts of the child taken away from them. They had no information as to why the child had been picked up from school by officials, they did not know where the child was and what condition he was in. Norwegian police have banned officials and the school from informing parents about the details of the proceedings. The child was placed in Norwegian foster care. Eventually, the parents managed to clarify the matter and get the child back. Fearing further abuse from Barnevernet, they returned to Poland.

After returning to the country, the child began to draw silhouettes of characters in sexual contexts and of sexual organs, arousing the legitimate concern of the parents. A meeting with a psychologist showed that in this way he was trying to express the harm suffered. Further consultations revealed the dramatic circumstances in which the child fell victim to paedophilia in Norwegian foster care. It was then that the parents decided to turn to the Ordo Iuris Team for the Protection of Children and Youth for help. The lawyers verified the evidence and informed the prosecutor’s office about the possibility of a crime having being committed.

However, the prosecutor’s office refused to initiate proceedings, pointing out that the parents did not report the case in Norway immediately after the incident. The prosecutor did not seem to understand that the disclosure of the events took place only when the boy felt safe, i.e. after returning to Poland. Moreover, the prosecutor did not refer at all to the testimony of the child, despite the fact that his truthfulness was confirmed by experienced psychologists. The Institute has filed a complaint with the court against the prosecutor’s decision.

“The prosecutor’s office, instead of substantive arguments, used an unsophisticated pretext to dismiss the case. The reason seems to be the embarrassment of conducting high-profile proceedings against Norwegians, with the participation of Norwegian law enforcement agencies and the children’s office. It should be expected that the court will overturn the decision of the prosecutor’s office and order it to continue the proceedings”, emphasised advocate Franciszek Michera from the Ordo Iuris Litigation Intervention Centre.

The European Court of Human Rights took into account the legal opinions prepared by Ordo Iuris, ruling in July in three cases concerning Barneveret’s removal of children from their parents. The Court has once again indicated, in line with the conclusions of the Institute’s special report, that Norway violates Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to respect for private and family life.