The stepson of Prince Heir Haakon, of Norway, was found guilty this Monday (15) of rape and domestic violence and sentenced to four years in prison, after a seven-week trial that further undermined the previously impeccable image of the royal family.
The 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 residence.
He was acquitted of two other rape charges.
Hoiby, nicknamed “Little Marius” since he attended the royal wedding as a four-year-old with blonde hair and blue eyes, was found guilty of 34 of 40 charges, including domestic violence against a then-girlfriend and drug possession and trafficking.
The court heard testimony about Hoiby’s drug addiction, home videos of sexual encounters and hundreds of incriminating electronic messages with former partners.
Prosecutors, who asked for seven years and seven months in prison, stated that the four women who accused him of rape, in both proven and unproven cases, were always too unconscious or incapacitated to resist him after attending parties.
“The court finds it proven that she was not able to resist the action,” judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad said of the rape in the crown prince’s home, as he read the unanimous verdict of the three-judge court.
Hoiby has pleaded not guilty to the most serious charges against him, although he admitted some less serious ones, including transporting 3.5kg of marijuana, breaching restraining orders and traffic offences.
Hoiby will appeal the verdict, his lawyer, Petar Sekulic, told newspapers VG and Aftenposten. The prosecution said it will consider appealing after reviewing the full 127-page verdict.
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“This is a victory for our justice system,” prosecutor Sturla Henriksboe told Reuters.
“No one can get away with serious criminal acts based on who they are or who they are related to.”
Hoiby attacked and suffocated his girlfriend
The Royal Household, which in the past has expressed solidarity with all those affected by the case, declined to comment.
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“The matter has been heard 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 found guilty of domestic violence against his then-girlfriend between mid-2022 and autumn 2023 (in the northern hemisphere). He repeatedly hit her in the face with his fist, strangled her, slammed the door in her face and threw objects at her, the court heard.
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Hoiby watched the verdict via video from his medical arrest. He has been repeatedly denied permission to visit his mother, who suffers from pulmonary fibrosis and needs a lung transplant.
Only one of the women accusing him of rape was present in court for the verdict. She cried after the judge ruled on her case.
Hoiby has no royal title or duties, but his case has paralyzed Norway due to his ties to the heir to the throne.
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Like other Scandinavian monarchies, the Norwegian royals have the image of a loving and relatively discreet family, who send their children to public schools and enjoy skiing and surfing alongside the public.
But Hoiby’s trial, which coincided with Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s apology for having contact with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, damaged his popularity.
A Norstat poll conducted in February during the trial showed a drop in the number of Norwegians in favor of maintaining the monarchy to an all-time low of 60%, although that number rose to 64% in May.
The verdict comes at a difficult time for Mette-Marit, with doctors saying she has around a year to live unless she is able to receive a lung transplant.
“But her situation may also soften somewhat the impact of the verdict itself, as the crown princess is receiving a wave of solidarity regarding her health,” Norwegian historian Trond Noren Isaksen told Reuters.
John Christian Elden, a lawyer for one of the victims, told Reuters that Hoiby’s sentence complied with new rules that distinguish between rape with or without sexual intercourse.
The two counts of rape for which Hoiby was convicted did not involve sexual intercourse.
The prosecutor, Henriksboe, said the court also took into account the recent practice of assessing whether there was consensual sex immediately before the rapes, which was the case.
