Marius Borg Høiby—the stepson to Norway’s future king—was formally charged Friday with multiple counts of rape, sexual assault and bodily harm after a months-long inquiry that police say uncovered a “double-digit” pool of alleged victims.
“I cannot go into further detail about the number of victims in the case beyond confirming that it is a double-digit number,” Oslo Police Attorney Andreas Kruszewski told The Associated Press, outlining one rape involving intercourse, two rapes without intercourse, four sexual-assault counts and two charges of bodily harm.
Høiby, 28—who is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of heir-apparent Crown Prince Haakon, but does not hold a royal title—was repeatedly arrested last year and questioned over preliminary rape and assault allegations, as reported by the Daily Beast.
Investigators say the current indictment draws on text messages, witness statements and search-warrant seizures.
Defense attorney Petar Sekulic told AP his client is “absolutely taking the accusations very seriously, but doesn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in most of the cases—especially the cases regarding sexual abuse and violence.”
Høiby—who has admitted to cocaine use—remains free pending a possible trial and enjoys the presumption of innocence.
Friday’s announcement marks the gravest legal threat yet to Norway’s famously low-key royal family, which has so far declined public comment.
The Daily Beast has tracked Høiby’s mounting legal troubles since police first held him in solitary confinement last August after an alleged knife-wielding attack on his girlfriend, and again in November, when he was arrested on suspicion of raping a woman who was “unconscious or for other reasons unable to resist the act,” per a preliminary charge.
The allegations have been big news in Norway, where the monarchy enjoys strong public approval.
According to Sekulic, Høiby once lived with Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and their children—Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus—but now resides in a separate house nearby, according to the AP report.
He has not been photographed in public for the past three years, according to Daily Beast research.
AP noted that the case arrives nearly a quarter-century after Mette-Marit herself startled the establishment by marrying Haakon as a single mother from a party-heavy background.
While the new charges carry sentences of up to 15 years per rape count, prosecutors gave no timeline for a trial.
The royal palace did not respond to a request for comment from AP. The Daily Beast has also approached the palace.
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