Norwegian amateur trainer banned for life for sexual conduct with minors

The Norwegian Trotting Association (DNT) has banned an amateur harness racing trainer for life due to sexually inappropriate conduct towards underaged girls.

The organization handed down the ruling on Wednesday (Feb. 15), writing that “there is a pattern in [A]’s behaviour, where he uses younger girls’ interest in horses to achieve contact. It is therefore extremely important for DNT to prevent trotting’s property and activities from being used as an arena where [A] comes into contact with people who participate in DNT’s children and youth activities.” The trainer/driver was not named in the ruling and is referred to as “[A].” Other entities and bodies were also anonymized.

In early 2020, the DNT received complaints of sexualized chats in a group on Snapchat, an online social media platform, which included members of the youth group of the track in question and were as young as 12. There were also reports of unwanted behaviour towards girls in the trainer’s stable. He was then banned from the property, excluding race days, for two years, after failing to appear at a hearing or answer questions. The DNT, however, declined to pursue action. In May 2022, he was then convicted in a court of law of sending sexual images and videos of himself to a 13-year-old girl whom he met at a stable where he rented space. He was sentenced to 120 days in prison.

The DNT then received a tip in line with the conviction, and the trotting association accordingly banned him for life.

The sentencing committee wrote that (translated from Norwegian):

“In an aggravating direction, it must be assumed that [A]’s highly reprehensible behavior has occurred in two events within a short period of time,” the statement reads. “Only a few months after he was banned from [track] for inappropriate behavior and dialogue towards underage girls, he established similar contact with a new underage girl in the new stable he has rented. The prosecution committee bases Midtre Hålogalands (the regional court) statement that [A]’s interest in younger girls is undisputed, and also well known to [A]’s friends and acquaintances.

“Recruitment of children and young people is one of Det Norske Travselskap’s core areas. Creating a good youth environment in trotting is a pronounced area of focus. The recruitment is needed to maintain the sport throughout the country and ensure sustainable development. DNT must ensure that children’s and youth activities under the auspices of trotting are never perceived as a risk environment for children who are interested in horses. The trot, and arenas that can be linked to it, must be safe so that anyone, at any level, can take part in the community without fear of being exposed to unwanted behaviour.

“Attention of a sexual nature towards a child is obviously undesirable behaviour, and it is apt to damage the trot’s reputation. No forms of harassment are accepted in trotting. There is zero tolerance.

“It is considered indisputable that [A] has acted as described in the prosecution decision. He has transgressed society’s general norms of appropriate behaviour, both in relation to the situation that led to the ban and in the situation that led to the criminal case. In both cases, the abuse is directed at children and is committed by an adult man aged 37.

“The sentencing committee finds it aggravating that the assaults covered by the criminal case only happened months after the ban. [A]’s actions are carried out with intent and involve several children, partly independently of each other. The actions show that he does not understand, or possibly does not respect, the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. The ban has obviously not had the desired preventive effect and [A] has not taken the matter seriously enough to change his behavior and way of interacting with children.”

The trainer claimed that the DNT’s judgement does not contain any direct evidence against him, despite the court ruling. He also claimed his 2020 ban from a company’s properties was instead due to a report by an aggrieved fellow license holder, and he called the accusations from that time “baseless.” He further stated that the 2022 criminal case was not related to his stable nor racing as a whole and is therefore not within the jurisdiction of the DNT. The claim was rejected with refutations to each point.

The DNT judgement also expressed regret that the organization did not pursue the reports from 2020. It said that “the sentencing committee would like to state that it is considered very worrisome and regrettable that DNT did
not take the case up for consideration already at the first notification.”

To read the full judgement in Norwegian, click here.

by Harnesslink Media