Breivik’s father, a retired Norwegian diplomat living in the south of France, said the psychiatric report compelled him to file to gain custody of his son, although men rarely won custody battles in Norway.

“In the (psychiatrist’s) report it said that if he remained with his mother he would be damaged by it,” Breivik’s father told newspaper VG. The paper also wrote that his mother had contacted children’s aid services for help with Breivik and his step-sister who was six years older.

Breivik’s mother emerged with custody although his parents had divorced when he was four. His busy father did not know a psychiatrist from children’s aid, or barnevernet, had been assessing the family.

In the days after the July 22nd Utøya massacre, news reports asserted Breivik’s father had abandoned him during his early teens after a spate of graffiti incidents. Breivik’s school mates turned on him around the same time.

The father addressed criticism that he abandoned Breivik by saying his teenage son had broken off contact between them. He admitted not having had contact with his son since 1995.