Hi, everyone. My mother is a Danish citizen living in Denmark. She just reached out to me and told me that she was sexually assaulted by her massage therapist today. He groped her breasts (including her nipples) and butt repeatedly while breathing in her ear and telling her how beautiful she is. She froze, because she was terrified in this situation, and now isn't sure what to do. I'm in America and am unfamiliar with Danish laws. Can she report him to a kind of better business bureau or go to the police? What options do we have for making sure this doesn't happen to anyone else? Thank you so much for any insight you can provide!
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The original was posted on /r/denmark by /u/OvalOvaries at 2024-02-06 17:34:50+00:00.
OvalOvaries (OP) at 2024-02-06 17:44:19+00:00 ID:
kp7fkd0Thank you for your response! If she does go to the police then what would the following legal proceedings look like? She isn't financially well off. Would she have to get a lawyer and go to court?
macnof at 2024-02-06 17:55:26+00:00 ID:
kp7hks2In general, you don't have to get a lawyer or pay anything when you report a crime, no matter if you're the victim or not.
Edit: also, the police will question other customers to get multiple testimonials. If no one else has been molested by him, she might not get justice (word against word situation).
OvalOvaries (OP) at 2024-02-06 18:10:02+00:00 ID:
kp7k6ixThat makes sense. Thank you!
StraightComplaint621 at 2024-02-06 17:47:30+00:00 ID:
kp7g526call the local police, go talk with them, she will get a procecuter from the state if she get to court.
OvalOvaries (OP) at 2024-02-06 17:51:15+00:00 ID:
kp7gtklThank you! This is what I am advising her to do. She is just concerned that the process could be expensive or that he will become aggressive and retaliate in a dangerous way.
MereOst at 2024-02-06 18:04:04+00:00 ID:
kp7j44uDon’t be concerned about that. The police will guide you through it. I’m pretty sure it will only cost you some time, not money. But really, the police can guide you through it all. Don’t hold back with reporting this!!
OvalOvaries (OP) at 2024-02-06 18:11:01+00:00 ID:
kp7kcsfThat's good to know. I'll encourage going to the police and support her along the way in whatever way I can.
wynnduffyisking at 2024-02-06 22:04:46+00:00 ID:
kp8qefsI really fail to see how it could get expensive. She can press charges and if the police and the prosecutors office finds that there is a case that will hold up in court they will indict him. It really does not require anything on her part except providing police with the relevant information and probably testify in court. If it goes to court she can probably also submit a claim for damages against him as part of the criminal proceedings.
romedo at 2024-02-06 22:51:48+00:00 ID:
kp8yi3jThis is criminal matter, be aware that civil lawsuits are not as common in Denmark, so suing for damages etc. beyond what might be granted in a criminal case is quite rare.
wynnduffyisking at 2024-02-06 22:58:09+00:00 ID:
kp8zknmNot quite sure what your point is in relation to my comment
romedo at 2024-02-06 23:04:09+00:00 ID:
kp90kmqNaahh it should most likely have nested under the comment above, but good for you to not miss an opportunity to take offense.
wynnduffyisking at 2024-02-06 23:06:41+00:00 ID:
kp90zikDude I just asked a question
AggravatingAd4758 at 2024-02-07 01:58:11+00:00 ID:
kp9s12dAt least in Sweden you would be getting some form of compensation from the perpetrator
wynnduffyisking at 2024-02-07 13:35:19+00:00 ID:
kpbtntgYou Can in Denmark as well. You just submit your claim during the criminal trial so you don’t have to spend your money to file a civil case. Not a lot, but it’s still something.
smuttenDK at 2024-02-07 14:03:45+00:00 ID:
kpbxlqnI'm the US, you have to pay for your own legal defense. There is no guarantee that the loosing party will cover legal costs, you have to counter sue for that, and often won't get close to enough to cover your costs. It's... Incredibly dystopian
wynnduffyisking at 2024-02-07 14:20:58+00:00 ID:
kpc02t0If it’s a civil case here in Denmark then both parties pay for their own representation. If you win then the standard practice is that the court determines an amount that the losing party has to pay you to cover your legal costs. However, that amount practically never covers the full amount - often it’s not even close. So even if you win it will still cost you. And then you can be forced to spent even more money collecting on the judgement if the other party is a dick or just broke. So Unless you have an insurance policy that covers legal disputes you can often have that same problem here.
In a criminal case (which I assume this is) both the defendant and some times the victim will have the opportunity to get legal representation paid by the state and the victim can submit a claim of compensation. If convicted the defendant will often be ordered to pay both the compensation and the cost of legal representation as well. But the victim won’t be on the hook for any of it. However the amounts you can be awarded are laughable. It’s not unusual for a rape victim to be awarded the equivalent of like $10.000. In a case such as OP’s mother’s where it is not legally categorized as rape any awarded amount would likely be much smaller.
Anyway, I hope OP’s mom presses charges both for her own sake and the sake of this guy’s other patients and potential victims. I really don’t see how that could hurt her financially unless she starts a campaign against him on social media or something where she could run the risk of a defamation claim.
sylfeden at 2024-02-07 07:13:17+00:00 ID:
kpaunpyIf he gets dangerous it would be in a physical way. He can sue her for only a small amount, as long as she don't publish her story he only get for the "false" reporting to the police. It is the thing i mentioned earlier. We try to match the amount to the damage and we set it frightfully low.
Sapphic-Tea2008 at 2024-02-07 03:48:38+00:00 ID:
kpa88yzNah, the state pays for the legal process.
awkristensen at 2024-02-07 08:16:51+00:00 ID:
kpb00axThis isn't US friend, qualified legal counseling will be provided for free, but unfortunately this will pretty much be a word vs. word situation, so unless the therarapist has other charges on him. Good luck.
Plenty-Accountant-40 at 2024-02-07 09:31:10+00:00 ID:
kpb5tsxRegarding the "expensive" part. Contrary to the US, in Denmark the "looser" in a trial will have to pay for the legal costs.
dankdegl at 2024-02-06 20:46:15+00:00 ID:
kp8c3j0She would get a state appointed, as it falls under criminal law, which is sponsored by the state
sylfeden at 2024-02-07 07:10:07+00:00 ID:
kpaudr1Any fiscal reparations would be rather small. We base on covering actual damage, mainly physical. She can probably get the goverment sponsored victims compensation ment to cover therapy, lost salary from being home sick and damage to property.
There is an option for having legal aid provided when dealing with the police i belive. She could ask for that. Generally pay out for a thing like this would be less than 20k kr. You don't get rich by trial in Denmark, and hiring a lawyer would eat it all up. It would be smarter to go see free legal aid about it.
No-Salamander-3165 at 2024-02-07 03:02:49+00:00 ID:
kpa1qcdShe reports it to the police, the police then takes her statement, establishes timeline etc, they then contact the massage therapist and take his statement. If possible or relevant they will contact additional witnesses and/or collect evidence. When all that is done they turn all their information over to the prosecutor, the prosecutor then decide if they think the case will be won in court the massage therapist is charged with the crime, otherwise the case is dropped - her only part required is reporting it and giving a statement, additional, it could be that there is already reports and hers will make the case better, or there could come additional reports in the future in which case her report will increase the likeliness of an conviction then!
I am so sorry this happened to her, wishing you guys all the best
vsq974 at 2024-02-07 08:50:07+00:00 ID:
kpb2mk4Police now. Some physical therapist of some sort just got convincers in Denmark for something similar, within this year. She can get legal aid.
nasbyloonions at 2024-02-07 15:18:59+00:00 ID:
kpc92ycI went to police to report a minor sexual assault just 5 years ago and it was taken well
If she can ask the therapist “why did you do that” etc over SMS so he can answer admitting that he did it, then I am thinking it would be best for any police proceedings regardless of country