A Norwegian court has ruled that Marius Borg Høiby must remain under house arrest for a further four weeks, extending it until September 7.
The stepson of Crown Prince Haakon has now spent a month detained at the royal estate of Skaugum while fitted with an electronic ankle tag, as his appeal against a four-year prison sentence progresses through the courts.
Norwegian prosecutors successfully argued for the extension, stating: “The prosecution has concluded that the risk of recidivism as of today has not been sufficiently reduced to consider it appropriate to release Høiby.”
The Oslo District Court sided with police, stipulating that he may only leave the property for purposes such as employment, education, medical appointments or family visits.
His legal representatives had contested the continued detention, though authorities may seek yet another extension beyond the current September deadline.
Høiby was convicted on June 15 this year of two counts of rape, along with additional offences, though the court acquitted him on two further rape charges.
The 29-year-old, whose mother is Crown Princess Mette-Marit, had entered not guilty pleas to the gravest allegations levelled against him, including all rape counts.
The prosecution had sought a substantially harsher punishment of seven years and seven months behind bars. His defence team, by contrast, pushed for a sentence of just 18 months before lodging an appeal against the verdict.
Because that appeal remains pending, Høiby’s conviction does not yet carry legal force.
Høiby participated in the court proceedings remotely via video link, making his case directly to the judge.
He insisted: “I have done everything I can to show the prosecution that there is no risk of recurrence.”
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The eldest child of the crown princess went further, asserting that prosecutors had previously given him reason to believe his release was forthcoming. He claimed that the prosecution had earlier “indicated that he should be released”.
Despite these protestations, the court remained unpersuaded, instead to accepting the police’s assessment that the danger of repeated criminal behaviour had not diminished sufficiently.
The ruling means Høiby remains bound to the royal residence under strict conditions, with his movements limited to a narrow set of permitted activities until at least early September.
The case has unfolded against a personal backdrop for the Norwegian royal family. Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been recovering from a lung transplant during her son’s conviction.
Shortly after the guilty verdict was handed down, Høiby reportedly managed to visit his mother in hospital. The Scandinavian publication Se og Hor reported that he was discreetly brought into Oslo University Hospital via a rear entrance to evade the press.
The Crown Princess was released from hospital at roughly the same period that her son’s house arrest commenced. Norway’s Royal House issued a statement in which Mette-Marit expressed that she was “deeply grateful” for her recovery.
The Palace confirmed that her condition remained as “good as can be expected” given the circumstances.
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