A Swedish court on Monday sentenced a Frenchman at the heart of a Nobel scandal to two years in jail for rape in a scandal that emerged during the #MeToo campaign.
An influential figure in Stockholm’s cultural scene, 72-year-old went on trial last month on two counts of rape relating to incidents dating back to 2011.
In its ruling on Monday, the Stockholm district court found him guilty on one of the charges while acquitting him of the other.
“The defendant is found guilty of rape committed during the night between the 5th and 6th of October 2011 and has been sentenced to imprisonment for two years,” a court statement said.
“The injured party has been awarded compensation for damages.”
Prosecutors had called for a minimum sentence of three years in what was one of the first big trials to come out of the #MeToo movement.
Arnault is married to a member of the Swedish Academy which selects the Nobel Literature Prize winner, with the scandal prompting the cancellation of this year’s award.
The scandal erupted in November 2017, one month after rape and sexual abuse accusations surfaced against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
At the time, Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter published the testimonies of 18 women claiming to have been raped, sexually assaulted or harassed by Arnault, who had close ties to the Academy. Read more
