Jean-Claude Arnault, the man at the centre of the sexual abuse scandal surrounding the Nobel Prize in literature, has been convicted of rape.
Stockholm district court gave a unanimous verdict which handed the French-born Arnault, who is the husband of a member of the Swedish Academy, the minimum sentence of two years.
Judge Gudrun Antemar said there was “sufficient evidence, consisting mainly of statements during the trial by the injured party and several witnesses”, to convict the defendant of one of the two counts of rape with which he had been charged.
A bitter row over how to handle the accusations against Arnault prompted seven of the academy's 18 members to quit earlier this year, including his wife, the poet and playwright Katarina Frostenson. She stepped down in April – the same time as the organisation's then-permanent secretary, Sara Danius.
The 72-year-old, who describes himself as a photographer and who reportedly used to boast of being the academy's “19th member”, had been an influential figure in Sweden for several decades. For years, he and Frostenson had run Forum, a Stockholm club that hosted readings by prominent writer. It was partially funded by the academy, which attracted accusations of a conflict of interest.
The abuse scandal emerged in November 2017 when Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter published allegations by 18 women accusing Arnault of rape, sexual harassment and physical abuse which took place in Sweden and France over a period of more than 20 years.
Eight women filed formal complaints, however all but one of them were dropped due to lack of evidence, or because they exceeded the statue of limitations.
As the sexual abuse allegations were made public, Dagens Nyhter also reported that an internal investigation by the academy concluded that Arnault may have leaked several names of Nobel literature laureates, which is the subject of heavy betting, ahead of their announcement – including Bob Dylan's in 2016, and Harold Pinter in 2005.
In the case that came to trial, Arnault faced charges of forcing a woman to engage in oral sex and sexual intercourse in a Stockholm apartment on 5 October 2011, and of raping her on 2 December in the same apartment while she was asleep. He was found guilty on the first count and acquitted on the second.
His lawyer had earlier told local media that Arnault would appeal if convicted, and said his client strenuously denied all charges against him.
The verdict on Arnault coincided with the start of Nobel Prize week, shortly before the announcement of the award for medicine.
In May it was announced that the academy, which was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, would not award a prize for literature this year, in view of its “currently diminished” membership and the public's reduced confidence in the academy itself. Two laureates will be announced in 2019.
