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Reuters

The stepson of Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon was found guilty of two counts of rape, one count of domestic violence and other crimes and sentenced to four years in prison, after a seven-week trial that has further dented the royal family’s once picture-perfect image.
Oslo District Court ruled that 29-year-old Marius Borg Hoiby, who joined the royal family when ‌his mother Mette-Marit married Haakon in 2001, was guilty of two counts of rape including one in the basement of the crown prince’s home.
He was acquitted of two other rape charges.
The court heard evidence of Hoiby’s drug addiction, self-made videos of sexual encounters, and hundreds of incriminating electronic messages with ex-partners.

Prosecutors, who had sought seven years and seven months in jail, said that the four women accusing him of rape, in both the proven and unproven cases, had each time been too unconscious or too incapacitated to resist him after attending ⁠parties.
“The court finds it is proven she was not able to resist the action,” Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad said of the rape at the crown prince’s ‌home, while reading the verdict. Efjestad said of the rape at the crown prince’s home, while reading the ⁠unanimous verdict by the three-judge court.
Hoiby had pleaded not guilty to the most severe accusations against him, including rape and domestic violence, while admitting to some lesser ones including the transport and delivery of 3.5kg (7.7 pounds) of marijuana to an unidentified person, ‌violating restraining orders and traffic violations.
Hoiby would appeal the verdict, his lawyer Petar Sekulic told dailies VG and Aftenposten. The prosecution said it would consider appealing after digesting the full 127-page verdict.
“This is a victory for our justice system,” prosecutor Sturla Henriksboe said.
“No one can get away with serious criminal acts based on who they are or ‌who they are related to.”
The royal household, which has in the past expressed sympathy for all those affected by the case, declined ⁠to react. “The matter has been considered by ⁠the courts, and we have no comment on the outcome,” a spokesperson said.
No other members of the royal family attended the trial.
Hoiby was also found guilty of domestic violence against a then girlfriend between mid-2022 and autumn 2023. He repeatedly hit her in the face with his fist, choked her, slammed ‌a door in her face and threw objects at her, the court heard during the trial.
Hoiby watched the verdict via video link from prison but could not be seen or heard in the ‌courtroom.
Only one ‌of the women accusing him of rape was in court for the verdict. She cried after the judge upheld her case, dabbing her eyes with ‌a tissue her lawyer gave her.

Hoiby has no royal title, performs no official duties and is not in the line of succession. But his case has ⁠transfixed Norway due to his ties to the heir to the throne.
Like other low-key Scandinavian monarchies, the Norwegian royals have had an image of a loving ⁠and relatively low profile family, sending their children to state schools and enjoying skiing and surfing alongside members of the public. But Hoiby’s trial, coinciding with Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s apology for contacts with late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has hurt their popularity.
A Norstat survey on February 21 ‌during the trial showed a fall in the ‌number of Norwegians favouring keeping the monarchy to a record low of 60 per cent, from 70 per cent in January, and a rise to 27 per cent from 19 per cent in those wanting a different system of governance.
Their numbers, though, were better in May, with 64 per cent of those polled by Norstat supporting the monarchy and 23 per cent wanting a different system of governance. Monday’s verdict was delivered amid difficult personal circumstances for Mette-Marit, who needs a lung transplant for pulmonary fibrosis.


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Marius Borg Hoiby looks at his mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, at a dinner in Oslo on June 16, 2022. Photo: AP

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Marius Borg Hoiby, son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, in Oslo in 2022. Photo: AFP

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One alleged rape took place in ‌the basement ‌of the crown prince’s family home, the court heard


One alleged rape took place in ‌the basement ‌of the crown prince’s family home, the court heard.


Norwegian crown princess’ son sentenced to 4 years’ jail for rape, domestic violence

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}One alleged rape took place in ‌the basement ‌of the crown prince’s family home, the court heard

One alleged rape took place in ‌the basement ‌of the crown prince’s family home, the court heard