A Norwegian court on Friday sentenced a doctor to 21 years in prison for committing dozens of rapes over nearly two decades. Arne Bye, 55, was found guilty of 70 counts of rape and sexual assault during gynecological examinations of his patients between 2004 and 2022. He was also convicted of 80 instances of abuse of his professional position.
Bye committed these acts at his medical practice located in the town of Frosta in central Norway. The court in the city of Trondelag permanently barred the doctor from practicing his profession and ordered him to financially compensate his victims.
During the trial, ninety-four women provided testimony, detailing how Bye engaged in multiple acts of non-consensual touching and digital penetration without any medical justification. Under Norwegian law, all these acts constitute rape. Bye also filmed the assaults.
“The suspect’s actions make this case an extremely serious one. The actions are unacceptable,” the Adresseavisen newspaper quoted Judge Espen Haug as stating in court. The sentence handed down by the court matched the one requested by the prosecution. Bye’s defense had argued for a lesser sentence, acknowledging only 20 of the alleged rapes.
