Marius Borg Hoiby, 27, was arrested in Oslo late on Monday last week on a preliminary rape charge – but police are now investigating a new alleged sexual offence
The eldest son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit is being released from custody after he was arrested on rape allegations – but police are now investigating a new alleged sexual offense for which he has not been charged.
Marius Borg Hoiby, 27, was arrested in Oslo late on Monday last week on a preliminary charge of having had “sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious or for other reasons unable to resist the act.” Norwegian media said Borg Hoiby denied the accusation.
Officers did not say at the time when the alleged rape occurred, but only that “the victim must have been unable to resist the act.”
Borg Høiby is the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon, and the son of Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship. He has no royal title or official duties, and the royal palace is yet to make any comments regarding the allegations, the news agency NTB said.
On Wednesday, police said they would not seek further detention of Borg Høiby because there was no indication thathe would tamper with any evidence, NRK reported. “This was not surprising. He shouldn’t have been imprisoned at all,” Øyvind Bratlien, Høiby’s defense attorney, told NRK. He said Borg Høiby would likely be released later Wednesday.
Earlier this year on August 4, Borg Høiby was briefly detained after officers responded to a disturbance in downtown Oslo. He faced preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage, and was later released. Although no further details on the incident were released, police said there was “a relationship between the suspect and the victim.”
Further preliminary charges have since been filed against Borg Høiby, including violating several restraining orders and driving without a valid license. In all, the cases involve four women and one man.
Borg Hoiby lives with the royal couple and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Norway’s future queen made headlines back in 2001 when she married Prince Haakon because she was a single mother who had lived a freewheeling life with a companion who had been convicted on drug charges.
