A Swedish man jailed for coercing his wife into sexual acts with more than 120 men has been sentenced to four years and five months in prison, after a court found he controlled her through threats, drugs and surveillance cameras at their home.
The 61-year-old, from the province of Ångermanland, was convicted after a trial in Härnösand, on Sweden’s eastern coast, of offences including attempted rape, aggravated pimping, assault and unlawful threats. He denied wrongdoing throughout the case, saying he had only helped arrange consensual encounters. The court was not persuaded.
This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.
What the court found in the Swedish coercion case
Prosecutors said the man began forcing his wife to provide sexual services for payment in 2022. Men travelled from across Sweden to the couple’s isolated farm in Kramfors, and the abuse continued until she contacted police in October 2025.
The court found he had “ruthlessly exploited” the woman, who has not been publicly identified. The man has also not been named.
Prosecutors said he used several methods to control her:
- threats of serious violence, including threats to kill her
- threats to pour petrol on her, burn her and cut off her fingers
- drugs
- the remoteness of their home in eastern Sweden
- her limited network of contacts
- security cameras inside the property, some of which recorded sexual encounters
Public broadcaster SVT reported that the woman knew where the cameras were placed and used a blind spot to escape before calling police. It is a grim detail, and one that makes the domestic surveillance element less theoretical than anyone would like.
How the judge described his control
In its ruling on Tuesday, the court said 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”.
The court said he often did this through “prolonged nagging and with unpleasant and condescending language”. It also found that he had initiated the sale of her sexual services and handled most of the operation.
The ruling placed the case within Sweden’s legal framework on sexual exploitation and the purchase of sex. Swedish authorities identified more than 120 men as having bought sexual services offered by the husband, although far fewer were ultimately charged.
The case has drawn attention outside Sweden and has been compared by some observers to the case of Dominique Pelicot in France, who was found to have drugged his then-wife Gisèle Pelicot and allowed other men to rape her over a nine-year period.
Why some rape charges were dismissed
The man was convicted of one count of attempted rape, but the court dismissed three other attempted rape charges.
It also dismissed eight rape counts, finding it could not establish in those instances that the woman’s participation had been involuntary. In one case, the court said it could not determine what sexual acts had taken place.
Under Swedish law, rights groups say rape charges can apply to sexual assaults where the seriousness of the violation is comparable to sexual intercourse. That legal threshold mattered here, and the court’s mixed findings show the difference between identifying exploitation and proving each specific charge beyond the required standard.
Alongside the prison sentence, the man was ordered to pay the woman 200,000 krona, about £15,900, in damages.
What happened to the men accused of buying sex
The court also convicted 28 other men of purchasing sexual acts and services.
Although Swedish authorities identified more than 120 men connected to the sexual services the husband offered, only 29 were charged in the case. Most reportedly denied the allegations, saying either that they had not had sex with the woman or that they had not paid for it.
The court convicted 28 of them of collectively purchasing 56 sexual services. Two received prison sentences, while the others were given suspended sentences or probation.
The outcome leaves the central conviction in place: the husband was found to have exploited his wife over several years, managed the sale of sexual services and used threats and surveillance to keep control. The wider buyer prosecutions were narrower, but still significant in a case that has already drawn international scrutiny.
