A 23-year old man in Oslo, who admitted earlier this week to a number of recent attempted assaults against children, had sought police help to combat his tendencies. A lack of treatment capacity means that people fearing pedophile tendencies have to wait a long time before they receive help.
The police claim that they acted correctly when they gave the 23-year the telephone numbers of an emergency conselling unit with social services and an institute of clinical psychology. They did not, however, contact the day care center where he worked.
“We don’t see how we could have acted differently, particularly considering that he had a clean record and had not been in conflict with the police previously, nor was he suspected of any particular act,” Police Inspector Hanne Kristin Rohde told newspaper Aftenposten.
According to the man’s lawyer, Øyvind Østberg, the 23-year old quit his therapy with a psychologist for economic reasons. It was at this point that he began to attempt contact with children.
The Institute of Clinical Sexology and Therapy (IKST) offers the most comprehensive treatment for pedophiles in Norway but currently has a long waiting list. Appeals for a bigger budget from state authorities reportedly have gone unanswered.
