14-year-old accused of raping schoolmate and circulating video of the assault among friends

A 14-year-old teenage boy in southern Norway has allegedly raped a girl, said to be his schoolmate. The boy is also accused of filming the assault and circulating the disturbing video among his friends.

When the alleged incident took place was not immediately clear, but local newspaper Varden reported it happened sometime last week in Grenland district in Telemark County. The case came to light after the victim's parents reported the matter to police.

"The boy is suspected of rape and for spreading material of a sexual nature involving children," police attorney Torunn Fossli Sæthre confirmed to local media.

During investigation, officers found the video of the assault on the suspect's smartphone. They found the same footage on a phone belonging to another person, indicating he had shared the video with others.

Telemarksavisa newspaper of Norway reported that the alleged sexual assault took place at the victim's residence and that the accused shot the video himself.

"We don't know how many people it [the video] has been sent to, but take the fact this happened very seriously. This makes the assault and the crime much worse," Sæthre said, adding the accused teenager has been sent to a youth detention facility.

The case is being handled by Norway's Child Welfare Services, locally called Barnevernet, as the accused is below 15 — the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the country.

"Police are now further investigating the case in order to find out what happened. What will then happen to the boy is the responsibility of Barnevernet. The accused is a child," the police attorney reportedly said.