The Helicopter doctor case (Norwegian: ''Helikopterlege-saken'') was a case of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

that received broad media attention from 2010 to 2012. A physician from

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

, Thor Aage Mathisen (born 1972), was arrested in October 2010 and charged with sexually abusing several underage girls, including 7 cases of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

, and of

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

ing a number of men. At the time, he worked as a

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

at Innlandet Hospital and worked part-time as a helicopter doctor. He thus became known in the media as "the helicopter doctor." In 2011, he was convicted by

Hedmarken District Court Hedmarken District Court ( no, Hedmarken tingrett) was a district court in Innlandet county, Norway. The court existed from 1588 to 1777 and again from 1992 until 2021. It served the Hedmarken area which included the municipalities of Hamar, Løt ...

and again by

Eidsivating Court of Appeal The Eidsivating Court of Appeal ( no, Eidsivating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Hamar. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Innlandet and eastern Viken. These ...

to 10 years

preventive detention Preventive detention is an imprisonment that is putatively justified for non-punitive purposes, most often to prevent (further) criminal acts. Types of preventive detention There is no universally agreed definition of preventive detention, and mu ...

, to pay his victims 2,4 million

NOK Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...

and deprived of his medical authorization ("struck off") on an indefinite basis. In March 2012 the

Supreme Court of Norway The Supreme Court of Norway (Norwegian Bokmål: ''(Norges) Høyesterett''; Norwegian Nynorsk: ''(Noregs) Høgsterett''; lit. ‘Highest Court’) was established in 1815 on the basis of section 88 in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway, whi ...

rejected to hear his appeal. He served his sentence between 2011 and 2018, mostly in the high security

Ila Detention and Security Prison Ila prison and detention center (Norwegian: ''Ila fengsel og forvaringsanstalt'') is a high security prison in Ila in Bærum municipality in Akershus county, outside the capital city of Oslo in Norway. It is the national preventive detention facil ...

outside Oslo, later in the Kroksrud Penal Labour Camp at

Kløfta Kløfta is a town located in Ullensaker, Akershus, Norway. It has a population of approximately 7,170 inhabitants. Kløfta has a soccer team called Kløfta IL, and a shopping market. Kløfta has three schools – a middle school and two first thro ...

, and was released on

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

in 2018 after serving over 7 years. During the trial, Mathisen was diagnosed by the court-appointed experts, psychiatrist Michael Setsaas and psychologist Jim Aage Nøttestad, with

paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

and

antisocial personality disorder Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD or infrequently APD) is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of disregard of, or violation of, the rights of others as well as a difficulty sustaining long-term relationships. Lack ...

with

sadomasochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

traits. According to the experts, he will need treatment for up to 20 years for his diagnoses. Mathisen didn't get accepted by a medical school in Norway, and studied medicine abroad.

References

{{Reflist Hamar Trials in Norway 2010 in Norway 2011 in Norway 2012 in Norway Child sexual abuse in Norway Incidents of violence against girls