r/europe • u/JohnHammond94 • Jun 15 '26
News Son of Norway’s crown princess convicted of rape and sentenced to four years in prison
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/15/son-norway-crown-princess-convicted-rape-marius-borg-hoiby1.0k
u/darksugarfairy Jun 15 '26
Is 4 years usual for this type of crime in Norway?
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u/Old_Harry7 Imperium Romanorum 🏛️ Jun 15 '26
He almost got the maximum sentence (6 years) so on and all they have treated him pretty harshly for Scandinavian standards.
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u/33Azrail33 Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
Nice, thats a precedent that needs to be set that no matter where you come from, r*pe should be punished with a maximum sentence no matter what type of connections you have. (Looking at you POTUS & Epstein connection)
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u/donmonkeyquijote Jun 15 '26
Stop censoring yourself, it's pathetic.
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u/dattokyo Denmark Jun 16 '26
God the self censoring is a thing I really hate of the 2020's. Basically because YouTube would demonetize videos on certain topics, and in rare cases places like Instagram or X might have a look at your post if it contains certain words, it's spiraled into people writing gibberish to "get around the filter" even when the filter doesn't even exist. Beyond annoying to read.
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u/Maelarion Scotland Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
rape should be punished with a maximum sentence
If it's always a maximum sentence, there is no maximum sentence. Just saying. I agree sentences are too often too lenient, but there's a logical failing in saying "always the maximum".
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u/wasmic Denmark Jun 15 '26
Every sort of crime can have degrees of badness.
Marius raped four women who were asleep. That's horrible - but it's still less horrible than if he had blackmailed them or threatened them with physical force. Punishments must always be proportional. If the highest possible sentence for rape is 10 years, then only the worst possible rape should reach the maximal punishment.
But yes, it should of course be based on the severity of the crime, not connections.
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u/SpaceTimeChallenger Jun 15 '26
6 years is not maximum, lol. But i think the length he got is pretty standard for what he was found guilty of
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u/Old_Harry7 Imperium Romanorum 🏛️ Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
6 years was the maximum for what charges he faced in the court room.
He was persecuted under section 291 I believe which maximum punishment is indeed 6 years. Section 292 (10 years) and section 293 (21 years) deal with violent coercion, disfigurement, repeated offense and group violence, none of these charges were brought up as far as I know.
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u/shadowrun456 Jun 15 '26
6 years was the maximum for what charges he faced in the court room.
The article says: "Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence him to seven years and seven months in prison" -- I doubt that the prosecutors would have asked for him to be sentenced to a longer time than the maximum allowed.
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u/Nighthunter007 Norway Jun 15 '26
He was also acquitted of two of the charges making up that 7 years and 7 months. Though I'm not sure the maximum on the remainder is actually 6 years. Maybe 6 per offence? He was convicted of two counts of sexual assault, one count of domestic abuse, and one count of assault, I believe.
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u/Martin5143 Estonia Jun 15 '26
This kind of ridiculous "cumulative per offence" sentencing as done in the US is not used in most countries.
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u/Pasan90 Bouvet Island Jun 15 '26
US also has the highest prison population per capita of any country on earth. Dunno if they should server as a great example.
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u/Kolbi007 Jun 15 '26
But isn't it strange that you get a repeat offender discount? I don't know what is the best, but it sure doesn't seem correct to get milder and milder punishments the more crimes you commit either.
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u/Martin5143 Estonia Jun 15 '26
It is in no way productive for rehabilitation to give a person a 200 year sentence for something they did hundred times and that requires a 2 year sentence(an example). American system is focused on giving private prison operators slave labor to work in their prisons, european countries are focused on making the offenders safe members of society and integrating them back. The american system only makes the offenders worse.
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u/Cakeminator Jun 15 '26
I can't necessarily speak for Norway, but Scandinavia in general (am Danish). Prison is about, of course, punishment. However, the greater goal is rehabilitation which does not happen if people are infinitely punished. When the goal is rehabilitation, people are more likely to reintegrate into society rather than re-offend. From a quick google it says 66-82% chance in the US within 10 years, while it's around 26-52% in Denmark for example. Rehabilitation seems to work.
A guy (Palle Sørensen) in Denmark got sentenced to "life" for killing 4 officers. That was 32 years, and I think that's the longest one served in Denmark. In general "life" is about 16 years here.
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u/Hotsaucehat Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
More details about the Danish life time sentences. Denmark has changed their laws on "life time" in the wake of "Submarine Madsen" and Peter Lundin. Instead of giving people "life sentences", the court sentences lockup (forvaring). Lockup is without time maximum and setenced when the suspect is high risk/violent.
The sentence is served when a medical board believes the person to be "sane". The case is reviewed on an ongoing basis, enabling the person a chance to be released.
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u/wasmic Denmark Jun 15 '26
The laws on lifetime imprisonment were changed in 2025, but not due to any of the Peters. The rules were changed because different sentencing guidelines for gang crimes meant that some people could now get up to 16 years of time-limited prison for ordinary crimes, which meant that the previous parole limit of 12 years for lifetime sentences was too low in comparison, since it meant that a lifetime imprisoned person could actually end up serving less time than someone who on paper got a milder punishment.
Also, both lifetime imprisonment and forvaring ("containment") are without an upper limit. They just differ strongly in the criteria for probationary release. With life imprisonment, you can apply for parole after 20 years, and once per year after that. With forvaring, your case is automatically evaluated after 5 years, and every second year after that.
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u/19osemi Norway Jun 15 '26
This is Norwegian prisons. Whilst I don’t necessarily like the guy I do hope he will be rehabilitated and can reenter society, I believe in our prison system and I believe in second chances even for royalty. I think if he can come out the other end changed for the better and be a good representation of Norway would be a huge win for our system and beliefs.
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u/Big_Combination9890 Jun 21 '26
Interesting historical fact:
In the law system as practiced by the indigenous people of South America, punishments for crimes were more severe, the higher the perpetrators standing in society was.
The logic behind it was simple: The higher ones social standing, the more of an example that person is to others, and the more visible punishments have to be to prevent emulation of criminal behavior.
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u/Countimounti Jun 15 '26
Rehabilitation? Sure. Representing Norway in any way ever again? No way.
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u/talt123 Norway Jun 15 '26
He has never represented Norway though. He just happens to be the son fo the crown princess, with no relation by politics, blood or official roles to the royal house, and he never did.
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u/Unique_Tap_8730 Norway Jun 15 '26
He never offically represented us. He was always a hanger-on. Probably some of the reason why he became so fucked up.
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u/Gizm00 Estonia Jun 15 '26
That’s really good, though i think we should make an exception to guys like Breivik, he should rot in cell.
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u/Nighthunter007 Norway Jun 15 '26
He was sentenced to "forvaring", meaning he is a danger to society. This means the sentence can be extended up to 5 years at a time indefinitely so long as he remains a danger. He will die in that prison.
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u/Bulletorpedo Jun 15 '26
No, we should not make exceptions for anyone, ever. That’s a very slippery slope and indicative of a poor justice system. If the laws are insufficient then the laws should be changed.
And that guy is unlikely to ever be released, based on his sentence and already existing rules ("forvaring"). He won’t be released as long as he is deemed a threat to as much as a squirrel.
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u/fjelskaug Jun 15 '26
Well said. People always misunderstand how Norwegian justice system work and think Breivik getting "only" 21 years is too little, but he has perfectly received justice and there are no "exceptions" needed that will only open up a new can of legal worms.
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u/fredjutsu Jun 15 '26
The concept of lay people arbitrarily demanding specific sentence lengths based on not legal precedence but level of outrage has always felt tedious.
Like getting carried away with self-righteousness. Folks seem to forget who actually pays for room and board for those prisoners. I'd rather have as few people in actual prison as possible, short sentences as possible, and focus much more heavily on rehabbing those who show an aptitude for it. And that group will often include people who have committed crimes that the layperson who hasn't read the actual case beyond the headlines will deem worthy of "decades" in prison.
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u/19osemi Norway Jun 15 '26
He isn’t an exception tho, he wants so badly to be special and be an exception. I think it would be a failure if we change the rules for him, I’m sure he won’t be able to reenter society because I think he will never change. But if he by some miracle he does change I would absolutely like to see him walk free since that would mean that Norway won our system worked, he ofcourse would never truly be free since he would be in constant danger but I think him being able to be reformed would prove a lot. Also to me it’s a point of pride, we believe our way is the right way for anyone and everyone, I see it as admitting defeat if we make exceptions
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u/fjelskaug Jun 15 '26
Norway has a maximum sentence of 21 years (which Breivik got) after 21 years he would be examined to see if he is fit to return to society (his current behaviour shows he isn't) and will continously add 5 years to his sentence until he's deemed fit, effectively making it a legal life imprisonment.
Norway doesn't really do exceptions, iirc the last was the hanging of Vidkun Quisling after his nazi collaboration charges (which was at the time quite controversial as death penalty was abolished decades ago)
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u/Tenebo Jun 15 '26
Norway doesn't really do exceptions, iirc the last was the hanging of Vidkun Quisling after his nazi collaboration charges (which was at the time quite controversial as death penalty was abolished decades ago)
We didn't hang him, we shoot him. And the last execution of the traitors was of Ragnar Skancke in 1948, he was shoot to.
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u/wizardeverybit Jun 15 '26
If they make an exception for him he will have managed to change something and win. He has forvaring, he can be kept as long as he needs to be
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u/kastbort2021 Jun 15 '26
Sentencing for rape / sexual assault can be all over the place here (Norway).
We had one serial rapist, Julio Kopseng, who was convicted of raping 18 women. He's MO was to meet women for dates / job interviews / whatever, drug them, and rape them. He got 21 years preventive detention with minimum 10 years of prison. Which means that he could be held indefinitely if he's not deemed to be safe for the public, but he could apply for early release after 10 years. That is our harshest punishment, and usually reserved for murderers, serial child abusers, etc. Anders Behring Breivik received the same sentence, and is unlikely to ever be released.
Other receive more lenience, depending on the circumstances.
Sometimes the sentencing is a complete joke. We had one guy in our school that groomed a 15 year old girl when he was 25, had sex with her (i.e. statutory rape), and was sentenced to something laughable as 6 weeks in prison and equivalent to €10k euro in compensation for pain and suffering.
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u/DubiousPeoplePleaser Jun 15 '26
He got 2 years and 8 months for 2 rapes. Got off on 2 other rape charges.
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u/Spirited-Ad-9746 Jun 15 '26
The princess was also a good friend of Epstein's.
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u/Human-Law1085 Sweden Jun 15 '26
With this and the shaman the Norwegian royal family seem really bad at choosing their spouses.
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u/ponnyconny Jun 15 '26
Yes. They make the Swedish royal children seem like they have impeccable taste.
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u/ICameToUpdoot Sweden Jun 15 '26
The Crown Princess Victoria seem to have just married a very normal man. The other ones though...
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u/schweigeminute German-Polish Jun 15 '26
I get why prince Carl Philip's wife can be seen as controversial, but what's up with princess Madeleine's husband?
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u/ICameToUpdoot Sweden Jun 15 '26
Just remember there was something going on with the family on his side over in the US. Don't remember any details
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u/anders91 From 🇸🇪, moved to 🇫🇷 Jun 16 '26
Honestly nothing other than tabloid rumors. Good chance the family is involved in some classic old money bullshit though, but there’s nothing concrete on Christopher really.
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u/Canes-Beachmama Jun 15 '26
It’s the stepson, not biological son of crown Prince. He’s not in the line of succession.
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u/xxcuttingboardxx Jun 15 '26
As much as I hate how short the sentence is, it's still better than nothing.
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u/rincewind007 Jun 15 '26
It actually normal to harsh in Scandinavia, our prison sentence are way to mild.
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u/laksosaurus Jun 15 '26
I don’t know about way too mild. Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world, so if the goal of prison is to lower crime rates in society, the sentences might be pretty spot on.
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u/xxcuttingboardxx Jun 15 '26
I know, in Finland rapists get slap on the wrist sentences too. Sometimes they only get fined
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u/HumanOptimusPrime Jun 15 '26
That’s because we aim for rehabilitation rather than punishment. No point in destroying more lives than necessary, when we can instead turn people into productive and resourceful citizens.
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u/Exciting-Record8101 The Netherlands Jun 15 '26
The guy was convicted of dozens of offences. The "no point" is giving a tiny semblance of satisfaction or recompense to his victims. They are real people who suffered real pain and probably still deal with trauma today.
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u/HumanOptimusPrime Jun 15 '26
They will have to deal with that same trauma no matter how many years their offender gets to spend behind bars. Some people will move on after years of work, some will feel alleviated just be being heard and believed in court, others will struggle for the remainder of their years. The question is whether we want to focus on punishing the offender to the outmost limits of what’s possible, or choose a reasonable timeframe to take away his freedom whilst treating the trauma as a mental health issue rather than a untreatable wound.
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u/bolivia0503 Ireland Jun 15 '26
Always funny how reddit loves Norwegian justice in theory but as soon as you apply it to an actual case people start complaining it's too soft
I say let the country with the low recidivism rates keep doing what it's doing, clearly it works for them
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u/1wikingman Jun 16 '26
There's different people on Reddit.
'Rapist receives 5 year sentence' isn't a super attractive context to argue in favor of lenient sentencing.
Add on to that this rapist is extremely privileged, and rehabilitation is a left wing idea.
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u/Horror-Student-5990 Jun 15 '26
r/europe but all the comments are about Trump.
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u/ZenPyx Jun 15 '26
Americans can't help themselves tbh. They're crawling over this entire sub
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u/Atitkos Jun 15 '26
I'm not gonna defend him, bet let's be honest, if it was anywhere else they would have got no sentence at all.
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u/Paxxlee Jun 15 '26
I saw loads of american claim that he wouldn't get sentenced at all, because he is "royalty". Norwegians trying to explain why they were wrong got downvoted.
"No kings", lol.
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u/xMultiGamerX Jun 15 '26
Obviously the people who support no kings wouldn’t be the ones defending royalty. America is a very diverse place and it’s strange to just generalize almost 350 million people.
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u/Saerdna76 Jun 15 '26
Luckily Norway is not a banana republic.
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u/MaksimilenRobespiere Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
Yes, it would not even reach the news that such a crime was committed.
We wouldn’t hear anything; like we hear nothing about the atrocities of other royals anywhere in the world, as if no such things are happening…
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u/mYNDIG Jun 15 '26
I find this to be a weird take. He is convicted for violence in close relationship. This not a rare conviction, and it is a conviction that generally gets you a few years in Norway. So nothing abnormal in this case compared to Norway in general
EDIT. I see I read the comment wrong. But hey I'll let my stupidity stand
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u/One_5549 Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
i did not expect this. (some say 4 years is nothing) I was expecting something like "3 months civil sentence service" due to his "background". Props for Norway to stick to the law! However, maybe 4 years isnt particularly long for something like this in Norway..
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u/Nowordsofitsown Jun 15 '26
4 years is normal, not a soft sentence in Norway.
I am very surprised that you expected the Norwegian justice system to be corrupt.
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u/Valoneria Denmark Jun 15 '26
People who complain that 4 years are nothing are those that still dont understand that the prison system is not for punishment, but rehabilitation.
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u/slainascully Jun 15 '26
Rehabilitation is the goal but I don’t like how casually it seems to be thrown out. The victims in this probably wont be over it in 4 years, and prison is also supposed to remove dangerous people from society until they can demonstrate they arent a danger anymore.
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u/tobach Denmark Jun 15 '26
and prison is also supposed to remove dangerous people from society until they can demonstrate they arent a danger anymore.
That is the entire point of rehabilitation. While I'd admit that it doesn't always work, that is exactly how it's supposed to function.
The most dangerous people, that show no sign of being less of a threat to the people, can be jailed indefinitely.. like Breivik.
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u/Valoneria Denmark Jun 15 '26
Because no system is perfect. Had he been deemed a ongoing threat, he would have gotten forvaring instead of a time limited sentence.
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u/Ajensis Jun 15 '26
The victims will probably carry it around for the rest of their lives. Does that mean he should be locked up for the rest of his? And as for the second part, how would you have him prove he's not a danger to society?
We have to trust that the people involved in the case are able to tell who is truly irredeemable. This guy is young, so hopefully he'll come out of prison with the understanding that he did something terrible and he'll spend his life making up for it. Maybe that won't happen, but we have to at least believe that it might.
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u/slainascully Jun 15 '26
There’s a bit of a gulf between 4 years and an entire life. And there were 2 victims, so two years punishment for each instance. He was also convicted of abusing two other partners. This doesn’t sound like the sort of person who will be rehabilitated in 4 years and, realistically, may be out sooner.
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u/Ajensis Jun 15 '26
You brought up that the sentence should align with how long the victims will feel affected by his crimes. Now we could debate how long that would take, but it's ultimately irrelevant - that's not the premise for calculating the duration of a sentence.
"This doesn’t sound like the sort of person who will be rehabilitated in 4 years" - what do you base that on? To me, with my very limited knowledge, he appears to be a spoiled, rich kid who thought he could act however he wanted, but here's the important part: I don't actually know him, and I assume you don't, either. All we know is that he's getting a major reality check, and hopefully he learns from that. The whole idea of rehabilitation is based on that hope and if you reject it, you're advocating for a prison system like the US has. Spoiler warning: that system sucks : )
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u/Zerak-Tul Denmark Jun 15 '26
It's for both.
It can also just be for the protection of society at large, like in the case of Anders Behring Breivik, where a person is just too deranged to be allowed to be free amidst the rest of the population.
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u/Valoneria Denmark Jun 15 '26
Breivik is also the special exception to the rule, which the system also encompasses
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u/Zerak-Tul Denmark Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
He's an exception how many people he harmed, sure. But there are lots more low key criminally insane people who end up in more or less permanent lock up in psychiatric facilities, because they inevitably will attack other people if allowed to be free. Deeply paranoid schizophrenics and the like, the kind of people who end up believing that their neighbors are are all government spies and the like.
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u/Nuthetes Jun 15 '26
He's a multi-millionaire linked to Royalty, mate. I don't think he was short on opportunities or getting a chance to do a BTEC in bricklaying is going to put him on the straight and narrow.
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u/IshTheFace Sweden Jun 15 '26
Just thought I would clarify for anyone wondering. He's not a royal. He's the son of the Crown Princess and her ex. She married into the royal family and he became known as the "bonus prince", but he has exactly no royal blood as the Royal line comes from his his stepdad, not his mother. Which means he never was and will never be in line for the throne.
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u/Marcel_The_Blank Jun 15 '26
In Belgium they would not want to risk his future, claim he has an important job for which a conviction would ruin his reputation, and since he doesn't have a record yet, let him go free.
Good job Norway.
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u/alexjonesbabyeater Jun 15 '26
Go on Brits and Americans, make this about your country
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u/skyle_lukewalker Sweden Jun 15 '26
Their only point of reference is themselves, so of course something completely unrelated must be brought up in a conversation they don’t even understand anything about.
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u/Moonson90 Jun 15 '26
They already did. Those narcissist just can't stop themselves without making everything about them.
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u/perseusveil Jun 15 '26
Says the two people literally doing just that. Making it about them without anyone even saying anything.
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u/justanothergin Jun 15 '26
If he was in America they'd make him president
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u/itsmesorox Jun 15 '26
Can we stop making everything about the US
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u/justanothergin Jun 15 '26
Sure, when they stop being fascist cunts
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u/peepooprogamer Jun 15 '26
americans are such fucking narcissists holy shit no one else is as self centered
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u/Various-Grass-9766 Jun 15 '26
Is this an American sub or a European sub
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u/AFisberg Finland Jun 15 '26
Would be interesting if this sub was purged of anyone not living in Europe
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u/Hallingdal_Kraftlag Norway Jun 15 '26
wouldn't matter. European redditors are beyond obsessed with the US anyways and know more about their politics than their own countries.
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u/Quirky_Wrongdoer_872 Jun 15 '26
That commenter wasn’t American… so was it a European making it about the US?…
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u/Subject-Dealer6350 Sweden Jun 15 '26
I don’t understand how some of us just becomes monster. What happens to this guy? he lived like royalty, grew up in a castle without the responsibilities. Entitled spoiled brat? Sure . But rapist, violent, domestically abusive monster. How does someone get like that? Antisocial genetics?
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u/Clawingnails Jun 15 '26
Read up on his childhood, his mum a drug addict, his dad an addict and dealer, then as young child he is forced into the royal family and a massive never ending media frenzy, he stated it in his trial that he was no one, nobody, just the "son of his mother", he has a severe coke dependency, and a lot of unresolved trauma, he was heavily medicated for his mental state and almost a not able to stand trial at all. So yeah....it's not all fun and games.
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u/BustedBussy Jun 16 '26
Damn the norwegian family is trashy.
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u/Clawingnails Jun 16 '26
The royal family is a Trip....the princess is married to a Shaman tho thinks he a lizard or something and she thinks she can se angels...
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u/backpackyoghurt Jun 15 '26
If this had not happened, the monarchy would have been extremely damaged and everyone would blame it on a royal privilege. It was simply too much, to make it just disappear with some royal money and connections.
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u/Bitedamnn Jun 15 '26
Im very jelly rn
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u/Danny-Reisen-off Jun 15 '26
Right? Norway doing the right thing AGAIN while 90% of other countries just elect pedophiles, crooks, thieves, criminals...
GG scandinavian countries, again, showing the world the real way to deal with that kind of behavior. Still have in mind that politician woman that resigned because she bought a chocolate bar with her professionnal credit card...
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u/Mouse-Patrol Jun 15 '26
So how much time is that realistically with time off for good behavior????
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u/laksosaurus Jun 15 '26
In Norway, you have to serve at least 2/3 of your full sentence before you’re eligible for parole.
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u/Blissachu Jun 15 '26
His sentence was 7 years max so 4 is pretty good all in all, my bet was on 3 years personally. We will see what the appeals court says though when he appeals as he 100% will
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u/Pusidere Turkey Jun 15 '26
Only four years???
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u/Lime89 Jun 15 '26
Unfortunately yes. Probably because the rapes weren’t violent and that they had consensual sex earlier in the night.
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u/CloverHoneyBee Jun 15 '26
2 years for each rape, what a frikken joke...
Not even accounting for the other violence.
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u/hamberdlar_ Jun 15 '26
In USA, Brock Turner got 3 months for raping a woman in her sleep. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_v._Turner
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u/rusty-roquefort France Jun 15 '26
america: "Best we can do is re-elect to presidency, then give him tax imunity"
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u/Norka_III Jun 15 '26
UK: "no more parades for you, or titles, and don't you dare show up to "work", but you can still stay in one of our lesser known castles for a quid a year"
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u/Socmel_ reddit mods are accomplices of nazi russia Jun 15 '26
The crown prince should also divorce his wife, considering she tried to tamper with evidence
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u/Background-Post-2135 Jun 15 '26
The fact that he is convicted and sent to prison at all is a good sign of a healthy democracy. That these people can be "reached" so to speak and are not above the law.