Man convicted after sending 30,000 messages to unknown woman

A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to one year in prison by Oslo District Court for severe harassment and threats against a woman he had never met.

Between October 2024 and October 27, 2025, he sent thousands of messages to the victim via SMS, email, social media, and the payment app Vipps, as well as making hundreds of calls. Court documents state that from February 17 to August 20, 2025 alone, he sent at least 36,392 messages.

The court described the content as ranging from degrading and offensive messages to sexually explicit material and threats of rape and murder. On July 24, 2025, he sent 1,031 messages in a single day, followed by 2,733 messages and calls the next day. He also contacted the woman’s friends and family and manipulated images of her to appear nude and sexualized, though the images were not shared.

The victim reported feeling deeply distressed, frightened, and harassed, fearing to go out alone and requiring support for basic errands. The man violated a restraining order against her at least 14 times. The court imposed a five-year contact ban and ordered him to pay 80,000 kroner in compensation.

He admitted the factual circumstances in court but denied criminal responsibility, claiming the actions stemmed from a psychological breakdown. The court noted he believed the woman was someone he wanted to marry and could help him.

The man was also convicted of harassing a second woman, sending her 1,639 emails between February 5 and October 4, 2024, along with numerous SMS and social media messages. Despite her repeated requests to stop, he persisted, leading her to change her phone number, disable notifications, and block him multiple times. She was later signed off work due to the stress. For this, he received a two-year contact ban and was ordered to pay 40,000 kroner in compensation.

Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, the man has been hospitalized in psychiatric wards multiple times. The court acknowledged possible transient near-psychotic episodes but ruled his actions did not absolve him of responsibility. He has a history of fixating on other women, including attempting to contact a female prison staff member while incarcerated, which led to his transfer to another facility.

He was also convicted of sending threatening emails to Akershus University Hospital. Having served seven months in pretrial detention, this period will be deducted from his sentence. He has two weeks to decide whether to appeal; the verdict is not yet final.