Trond Birkedal

Trond Birkedal (born 22 March 1980) is a former Norwegian Progress Party politician who occupied a number of senior posts in his party, including as chairman of the Youth of the Progress Party and member of Progress Party's central executive committee and national board.^[1]

Trond Birkedal
Birkedal in 2010
Born	(1980-03-22) 22 March 1980 (age 44) Stavanger, Oslo
Nationality	Norwegian
Years active	1996–2011
Political party	Progress Party

Locally, he was elected as a member of the Stavanger city council and Rogaland county council.^[2] In addition, he ran for Mayor in the 2011 local elections.^[3] He resigned from politics following his indictment and subsequent conviction for child sexual abuse.

Conviction for child sexual abuse

In 2011, Birkedal was charged with having sex with a minor and sexual misconduct.^[1][4][5] He was also suspected of sexual offences against 13 boys.^[6] Subsequently, Birkedal resigned from all political offices,^[7] effectively ending his political career.

In February 2012, the city court acquitted him on the most serious charges involving sex with a minor, while he was convicted on lesser charges involving secret filming and inappropriate internet conduct, to which he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 60 days in prison, of which 40 days were suspended. The non-suspended part of the sentence had already been served in custody.^[8]

The verdict was appealed by the public prosecutor. On 17 October 2012, Birkedal was found guilty of sex with a minor and sentenced to 7 months in prison. He was fined to pay the victim 60,000 NOK in compensation by Gulating Court of Appeal.^[9][10] On 12 December 2012, the Supreme Court rejected his appeal of the conviction, and his conviction for sex with a minor is thus final. But, the court agreed to hear the sentencing.^[11] The Supreme Court rejected his appeal of the sentencing on 7 February 2013; both the conviction and the sentence are now final.^[12]

References

1. ""Han har gått på trynet før, det har han lært av"". Vg.no. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
2. "Birkedal: – Jeg er ferdig med politikken | ABC Nyheter". April 5, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-04-05.
3. "Frp må finne ny ordførerkandidat". Nrk.no. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
4. "Trond Birkedal siktet for sex med person under 16 år". Dagbladet.no. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
5. ""Jeg så at han likte unge gutter, men trodde han visste hvor grensa gikk"". Dagbladet.no. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
6. Østebø, Jone (15 July 2011). "Birkedal mistenkt for produksjon av barneporno". Stavanger Aftenblad. Norway. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
7. "Ville kastrere seksualforbrytere | ABC Nyheter". March 26, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-03-26.
8. "– Eg er ikkje overraska, men letta" (in Norwegian). NRK. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
9. "Birkedal fikk syv måneders fengsel". Aftenposten.no. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
10. "Trond Birkedal er funnet skyldig i seksuelt misbruk". Dagbladet.no. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
11. "Birkedal kjent skyld". Aftenposten.no. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
12. "Høyesterett forkaster Birkedal-anke". Vg.no. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2016.

Preceded by Bård Hoksrud	Chairman of the Youth of the Progress Party 2002–2008	Succeeded by Ove Vanebo