Marius Borg Høiby, seated beside his mother, Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, in an AFP File photo, is now facing a second rape allegation, according to police reports on Wednesday. This comes just two days after his arrest on another sexual assault charge.
Born from a relationship prior to Mette-Marit's marriage to heir Prince Haakon, Marius Borg Hoiby was apprehended on Monday evening on suspicion of rape. Following the discovery of a second allegation, a police lawyer stated that they requested the 27-year-old be held in custody. A judge subsequently ordered a one-week detention, as reported by media.
"Marius is confronting serious accusations, which the police and judiciary will handle... I am confident they will perform their duties well," Prince Haakon told public broadcaster NRK before the detention order was issued. Borg Hoiby's attorney, Oyvind Bratlien, plans to appeal the detention ruling but expressed satisfaction that the judges did not grant the police's request for a two-week detention. "We view that as a positive sign," he stated in a written message to NRK.
Police lawyer Andreas Kruszewski revealed during the hearing that the second allegation involves "sexual intercourse without consent with a woman incapable of resisting the act." Investigators conducted a search and seized items from Borg Hoiby's residence. This new charge follows an earlier accusation of bodily harm stemming from a late-night altercation on August 4 at an Oslo apartment involving a woman he was in a relationship with. Norwegian media reported that a knife was found embedded in one of the woman's bedroom walls at the time.
Borg Hoiby was arrested again in September for violating a restraining order. When detained on Monday, he was in a car with the alleged victim of the August incident, according to police. Raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18, Borg Hoiby does not hold an official public role unlike his siblings.
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