Björgvin Björgvinsson, senior officer at the sexual offence department of the Capital Region Police, apologized for comments he had made to the newspaper DV on Monday last week and subsequently resigned from his position.
Icelandic police officers. The photo is not related to the story. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
In the interview with DV Björgvinsson insinuated that victims of rape could sometimes be blamed for being in an intoxicated condition when the crime occurred and said people had to take responsibility for themselves.
A statement from the Capital Region Police said that Björgvinsson’s comments do not reflect the office’s view of sexual offenses or the victims of such crimes in any way. The statement said the office regretted these comments and apologized for them, visir.is reports.
“It is also the estimation of the senior officer of the sexual offense department that the comments could harm the credibility of the police’s investigations in this sensitive and important area and he is sorry for that,” the statement reads.
The investigation of sex-related crimes is now under the charge of Fridrik Smári Björgvinsson, senior officer at the Capital Region Police investigative department.
