Son of Norway’s crown princess convicted of rape and sentenced to four years in prison

Marius Borg Høiby in Oslo in January. Photograph: Heiko Junge/NTB Scanpix/AP View image in fullscreen Marius Borg Høiby in Oslo in January. Photograph: Heiko Junge/NTB Scanpix/AP Son of Norway’s crown princess convicted of rape and sentenced to four years in prison Marius Borg Høiby found guilty of ⁠two ​counts of rape, one count of domestic violence and other ⁠crimes Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norway’s crown princess, has been sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of several offences including two counts of rape. The verdict was handed down by the Oslo district court on Monday morning, nearly three months after Høiby’s closely watched six-week trial. Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad convicted him of assaulting his former girlfriend Nora Haukland, the only victim to have been publicly named. He was ordered to pay Haukland and three other women compensation, and was also sentenced to a two-year restraining order against one of his victims. Høiby faced 40 charges, including four counts of rape and assault, several breaches of restraining orders, as well as drug and driving offences. One charge of violating a restraining order was later overturned. He was found guilty of 34 offences – including two counts of rape, serious bodily harm, abuse in close relationships, physical assault, threats, six counts of sexually offensive behaviour and three counts of violating a restraining order. He was acquitted of two counts of rape and two counts of violating a restraining order. View image in fullscreen Defence lawyers Petar Sekulic and Ellen Holager Andenæs speak to reporters after the verdict. Photograph: Rune Hellestad/Corbis/Getty Images The 29-year-old had pleaded not guilty to the most serious accusations against him, including rape, while admitting to ‌some lesser offences. All parties have two weeks to appeal against the verdict. Høiby attended court by video link from Ila prison, which his defence said was for health reasons. He was not visible on the video link. Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence him to seven years and seven months in prison, while defence lawyers had argued that he should be acquitted of the rape allegations and receive no more than 18 months for the offences to which he had admitted. The rape charges involve four women and span a period between 2018 and 2024. The women are alleged in each case to have been sleeping or heavily incapacitated. Addressing one of the charges for which Høiby was found guilty – the rape of a woman in the basement of the crown prince and princess’s residence at Skaugum in December 2018 – Efjestad said of the video evidence: “She has closed her eyes, lies in the same position over time and shows no reactions to touch or stimulation. There are no sounds or movements that indicate she is awake. “This is also supported by the victim’s own reaction, when she was shown recordings during interrogation, where she stated that she had not been aware of what happened.” View image in fulls