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Another woman testified in the court in Oslo, accusing son of the Norwegian heir to the throne rape her while she was sleeping.
Marius Borg HøibyThe 29-year-old is the eldest son of the Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship and stepson of the heir to the throne, heir to the throne Haakon. Høiby has no royal title or official duties.
He is on trial for several alleged crimes with 38 points against him, including four counts of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence against one ex-partner and acts of violence against another, as well as transporting 3.5 kilograms of marijuana, violating a restraining order and aggravated assault. Others include death threats and traffic violations.
Høiby stood as prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø read the 38-count indictment against him at Oslo District Court on February 3, asking him if he pleaded guilty. He answered “no” to the most serious accusations.including four counts of rape.
Prosecutors said Høiby could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted at the trial, which is scheduled to last until March 19. Seven defendants are expected to testify.
Another woman testifies
On Tuesday, during the second week of the trial, the woman testified about the alleged rape, which the prosecution claimed took place on October 3, 2023, after an after-party at the apartment. The agency France-Presse reports.
After consensual sex, the woman said she woke up after Høiby continued to have sex with her, which she said was not consensual.
“I remember waking up when he was already moving. I thought, ‘I don’t understand how someone can have sex with someone who is sleeping,'” she told the court.
“Then I mostly had the feeling that I was separating, leaving my own body,” she said. “It was painful. My body wasn’t ready for it.”
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“It’s always been my worst nightmare,” she said, adding that she closed her eyes “so I wouldn’t have to participate in my own attack.”
The prosecution submitted video evidence recorded on Høiby’s phone to prove that the sex took place when the woman was unable to say no.
Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbro said the five-second video, which police discovered on Høiby’s phone, showed the woman sleeping at the time of the alleged attack. They also shared data from the woman’s fitness watch to show she was asleep at the time.
The woman told the court that the video taken by Høiby was taken without her knowledge.
Høiby told the court the woman “was awake when I had sex with her”, before correcting himself to say: “When we had sex together.”
“I don’t have sex with sleeping women,” added Høiby.
“I don’t understand: if we had sex three or four times before and I woke her up every time, why the hell would I have sex with her without waking her up the last time?”
A court sketch of Marius Borg Hoiby during the second day of his trial, held in room 250 of the District Court in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday, February 4, 2026.
Ane Hem/NTB Scanpix via AP, Pool
The first female testimony
Last week, the court heard testimony from another woman who claimed that Høiby raped her at an after party in the basement of his parents’ estate near Oslo in December 2018.
The woman told the court she “100 per cent” believed she had been drugged during the after party, reports the BBC.
The woman said she felt “betrayal and shock” after police showed her videos of Høiby allegedly sexually abusing her.
She said she did not remember what happened and called her memory a “black hole”.
When asked about the alleged rape in 2018, Høiby told the court that he did not remember making the video and denied raping the woman. He said they had consensual sex after other people at the party went to bed.
When the prosecutor asked him if the woman was awake when they had sex, Høiby said: “I don’t sleep with women who are not awake.”
Høiby has been under scrutiny since he was arrested several times in 2024 on charges of rape and preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal mischief.
The said the royal court it was up to the courts to process the case and make a decision.
Royal problems
Royal families are generally popular in Norway, but the Høiby case posed a problem for the family’s image.
The trial began at a particularly sensitive moment. Mette-Marit faces re-examination of her past contacts with Jeffrey Epsteinwho died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while facing charges of sex trafficking, following the release of a new batch of documents from Epstein files.
Several hundred of them mentioned the heir to the throne, who already stated in 2019 that she regretted having contact with Epstein, according to Norwegian media. The documents, which include email exchanges, showed that Mette-Marit borrowed a property owned by Epstein in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days in 2013. Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported that the stay was arranged through a mutual friend, which was later confirmed by the royal household.
Mette-Marit said in a statement that she “must take responsibility for not investigating Epstein’s background more thoroughly and for not realizing earlier what kind of person he is.” She added: “I showed poor judgment and I regret having any contact with Epstein at all. It’s just embarrassing.”
— With files from the Associated Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
