Aleks Phillips
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A 61-year-old Swedish man has been sentenced to four years and five months in prison for coercing his wife into providing sexual services to more than 120 men.
The court found he had controlled her through threats of violence and security cameras. He was convicted of offences including attempted rape, aggravated pimping, assault and unlawful threats following a trial in Härnösand, on Sweden's eastern coast.
The court also convicted 28 other men of purchasing sexual acts and services.
The case drew international attention and has been compared by some to Dominique Pelicot in France who was found to have drugged his then-wife Gisèle and allowed other men to rape her over a period of nine years.
The man from the Swedish province of Ångermanland consistently denied any wrongdoing and claimed he had only helped organise consensual encounters.
But the court sided with prosecutors, finding he had "ruthlessly exploited" the woman. Neither has been publicly identified.
This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing
Prosecutors said the man began forcing his wife into sex with the men, who travelled to their secluded farm in Kramfors from across the country, in exchange for payment in 2022 - and only ceased when she reported him to police in October 2025.
He plied her with drugs and used the remoteness of their home in eastern Sweden, her limited network of contacts and surveillance cameras in their home which sometimes captured sexual encounters to control her.
He also threatened to kill her, pour petrol on her, burn her and cut off her fingers, prosecutors told the court.
The woman knew where the cameras were in the house and used a blind spot to escape before calling police, according to public broadcaster SVT.
The court found the man had "influenced and induced his wife to perform sexual acts on herself, broadcast them online, receive additional sex buyers and try to get neighbours and customers to have sex with her", it ruled on Tuesday.
It said that, in many cases, this was done through "prolonged nagging and with unpleasant and condescending language".
It also found he had taken the initiative to begin selling her sexual services and had administered most of the business.
The court dismissed eight counts of rape as it could not establish her participation was involuntary and in one case could not establish which sexual acts took place.
Under Swedish law, rape charges can be filed for sexual assaults in which the seriousness of the violation is comparable to sexual intercourse, rights groups say.
The court also convicted the man of one count of attempted rape but dismissed three other charges.
As well as the jail sentence, it ordered him to pay the woman 200,000 krona (£15,900) in damages.
Although 120 men were identified by Swedish authorities as engaging in the sexual services the man offered, only 29 were charged in relation to the case.
Most reportedly denied the allegations against them, saying they either did not have sex with the woman or did not pay for it.
But the court convicted 28 of them of collectively purchasing 56 sexual services. Two of the men were handed prison sentences, while the rest were given suspended sentences or probation.
