The son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been arrested on suspicion of rape, local media reported on Tuesday, citing police.
The 27-year-old Marius Borg Hoiby was detained late on Monday in Oslo on a preliminary charge of having had “sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious or for other reasons unable to resist the act,” according to a police statement.
Hoiby, the eldest son of Norway’s Crown Princess, was born from a relationship prior to Mette-Marit’s marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the Norwegian throne. He has no royal title or official duties.
Police did not specify when the alleged rape took place, only noting that “the victim must have been unable to resist the act,” Norwegian media said, adding that Hoiby has denied the accusation.
“Hoiby does not plead guilty following the extended charge. He cooperates well with the police and wants to explain himself,” his lawyer Oyvind Bratlien told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
He was previously detained in August after allegedly attacking his ex-girlfriend at her apartment in Oslo. The man was initially charged with causing bodily harm and criminal damage and was released. Details were unclear, but police said there was “a relationship between the suspect and the victim.”
According to Norwegian media, police found a knife stuck into one of the walls of the woman’s bedroom at the time. He was arrested again in September for allegedly violating a restraining order.
Hoiby was in a car with the alleged victim from the August incident when he was arrested by police on Monday shortly after 11pm local time and is now in a detention center, according to media reports.
Hege Salomon, the lawyer for the woman who was allegedly raped, said “she is having a hard time.” She told NRK that it was the police, not the woman, that had brought the case.
Hoiby was raised by the royal couple along with their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18. After his arrest in September, Hoiby was reportedly banned from accessing the home of his mother and stepfather.
His mother, Norway’s future queen, made headlines when she married the crown prince in 2001. Before she met Prince Haakon, Mette-Marit was a single mother and had a relationship with Marius’ father, Morten Borg, who was convicted of violence, drunk driving, and cocaine possession, according to Observer.