As an American, I know full well that I have no room to talk about the many injustices of the American criminal justice system. But I’m consistently stunned by the short sentences handed down in Europe for violent crimes. For example, this situation with Norway’s royal stepson Marius Borg Hoiby, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Marius is 29 years old and he’s been a violent POS for many years. In 2024, he was finally arrested for rape and assault. Over the course of a year, Norwegian prosecutors piled on dozens of other charges for all of his other crimes, like stalking, harassment and assault of multiple women. Marius was prosecuted on 40 criminal charges, he was denied special release to visit his ill mother, and today, he was convicted on many of those charges. His sentence? Four years in prison. Only four years???
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 since 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.
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 between 2018 and 2024. In each case, the women are alleged to have been sleeping or heavily incapacitated. Addressing one of the charges, for which Høiby was found guilty of raping 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.”
Again, prosecutors had SO MUCH evidence, and Marius was convicted of 34 offenses, including some of the most violent crimes to women. And he only got four years in prison. That’s insane. He’s a convicted serial predator and violent misogynist – four years in prison won’t change him. Marius’s lawyers are still trying to convince the courts to release Marius long enough to visit his mother too, but I really hope that doesn’t happen.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.
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