Sawt Falasteen - Sex was consensual, Norway crown princess's son tells rape trial

Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit's son from a relationship prior to her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, is accused of raping them between 2018 and 2024, as well as a string of other crimes.

His trial has thrown the Norwegian royal family into turmoil, at a time when Mette-Marit has also come under fire over recently unsealed US documents revealing her close friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Clad in green trousers and a sweater, Hoiby remained expressionless in the Oslo district court as prosecutors read out the 38 charges against him, which could see him jailed for up to 16 years.

While Hoiby pleaded not guilty to the rapes, he admitted guilt for several of the more minor counts, including assaults, a narcotics charge, traffic offences and violations of restraining orders.

He was arrested again on Sunday on suspicion of assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order, and was remanded in custody for four weeks.

The prosecution presented details of the alleged rapes and assaults to the packed courtroom as Hoiby, his head bowed, fidgeted nervously.

The alleged rapes -- including one while he was on holiday in 2023 with his royal stepfather in Norway's Lofoten Islands -- all took place after consensual sex, often following evenings of heavy drinking when the women were not in a state to defend themselves, the prosecution claimed.

"If Marius says he is not guilty ... it's simply because he perceived all of the acts as perfectly normal and consensual sexual relations," the defence argued.

One of his alleged victims testified, in tears, about an after-party in 2018 at Hoiby's residence on his parents' Skaugum estate outside Oslo.

Police discovered footage on Hoiby's phone showing what they described as Mette-Marit's son raping the alleged victim while she slept. The victim told the court that she could not remember having fallen asleep after cutting short a brief sexual encounter with Hoiby.

- Treated like anyone else -

Hoiby "must not be treated more severely nor more leniently because of his family connections", prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo told the court.

The defence meanwhile criticised the "negative media tsunami" that risked convicting Hoiby in advance.

"The judgment must be handed down in this courtroom, nowhere else," lawyer Ellen Holager Andenaes told the court.

"It is really impossible for me to describe the impact that this has had on Marius's life and mental health during the past 18 months," she added.

Hoiby was first arrested on August 4, 2024 on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend the night before.

Several days later, he admitted he had acted "under the influence of alcohol and cocaine after an argument", having suffered from "mental troubles" and struggling "for a long time with substance abuse".

Several ex-girlfriends then came forward and said he had abused them, both physically and mentally.

The police investigation uncovered a string of other suspected offences, including the rapes of four women while they were sleeping or passed out drunk, which he filmed or took pictures of.

The last alleged rape took place after the police investigation began.

In January, police announced six more counts against him, including a drug charge from 2020 after he confessed to transporting 3.5 kilos (nearly eight pounds) of marijuana.

- Kicks and punches -

The identities of the seven alleged victims cannot be disclosed, with the exception of ex-girlfriend Nora Haukland, a model and influencer who has publicly accused him of physical abuse.

In 2022-2023, while the two were in a relationship, Hoiby repeatedly struck her in the face, kicked and punched her, grabbed her by the throat, threw her against a refrigerator and hurled insults at her, the prosecution said.

The scandal has dealt a blow to the monarchy's reputation, though it remains broadly popular thanks to King Harald and Queen Sonja -- both 88 -- who are respected as unifying figures.

A poll published Tuesday by television channel TV2 suggested that more than 70 percent of Norwegians think the monarchy's standing has been weakened in recent years by various scandals.

The crown prince couple is not attending the trial, which comes as Mette-Marit, 52, faces battles on several fronts.

Besides questions over her relationship with Epstein, she suffers from an incurable lung disease and will likely need a risky lung transplant in the future.

The Hoiby verdict is expected several weeks after the trial ends on March 19.

J.Saleh--SF-PST