Aðalbergur Sveinsson, a Reykjavík police officer and former chair of the Association of Reykjavík Police, was not put on leave while three separate charges of sexual assault were filed against him, Stundin reports, and was elected to chair the Association after charges had been filed.
Mannlíf recently featured an in-depth interview with three women who said they were sexually abused by Aðalbergur, one of them his ten-year-old stepdaughter at the time. These three filed charges against him in 2009, 2011 and 2013 (note: in Iceland, an accuser files charges with the prosecutor’s office, who then decides whether or not to pursue formally charging the accused).
Further, in an earlier interview with Mannlíf, the mother of another of Aðalbergur’s accusers said that he had once visited their home in response to a call for police, after the mother’s daughter had filed charges against him.
“What I found unacceptable is that we were put in the position that if we needed help from the police, we could expect that the man that we had accused of sexually assaulting my daughter would arrive on the scene,” she said.
Aðalbergur had arrived with a another officer, and she told this officer that Aðalbergur was not welcome in her home, and explained why. Aðalbergur still patrols this same area.
Aðalbergur’s questionable behaviour within the force goes back even farther. In 2005, he was sentenced to two years probation after deliberately steering his squad car into the path of a bicyclist, injuring both the cyclist and his own partner in the process. He lied in the police report filed and convinced a few other officers to cover him, but the truth of the matter was later brought to light. On this occasion as well he was not relieved of duty.
Aðalbergur is currently on vacation in Tenerife, and hung up on Stundin reporters who attempted to reach him for a statement.
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