The Oslo District Court has ruled that a man in his late twenties, charged with the aggravated rape of a child under the age of 14, shall continue to serve his pre-trial detention under electronic monitoring in his mother’s flat in Oslo. At the same time, the court describes the risk of reoffending in the case as “significant”.
The man has been held in pre-trial detention since September 2025. He is charged with an offence under Sections 300, cf. 299, of the Penal Code – aggravated rape of a child under the age of 14.
According to the ruling, he has to a large extent admitted the offenses, and the prosecution states that he must expect several years’ imprisonment if convicted in accordance with the indictment.
Instead of being held in an ordinary prison cell, the pre-trial detention is being carried out as a residence order with electronic monitoring pursuant to Section 184 b of the Criminal Procedure Act. Under the arrangement, he is required to remain at his mother’s home wearing an electronic ankle tag, with permission to leave for a gym twice a week.
At the court hearing, the accused requested that his gym allowance be increased from two to three visits per week, referring to statements from both himself and his general practitioner regarding his need for physical exercise.
The prosecution opposed the request, pointing out that electronic monitoring is a narrowly defined exceptional measure and that there exists a “strong and documented risk of reoffending”.
The court rejected the request for an extension, noting that the matter had already been considered on two previous occasions and that no new medical information had been submitted.
The court found that continued pre-trial detention under electronic monitoring was not disproportionate and that there was no risk of so-called overservice of sentence (oversoning). The case is expected to be scheduled for trial after the summer.
The time spent under house arrest at his mother’s home will count towards the service of his sentence once he has been convicted.