Norwegian who raped Irish woman in sleep faces appeal
The Local Norway - [email protected]
Published: 5 Feb, 2016 CET.
Updated: Fri 5 Feb 2016 14:03 CET
Irish prosecutors are hoping to overturn the suspended jail sentence of a Norwegian man who admitted to raping his Irish girlfriend up to ten times while she slept.
The Irish Independent has reported that prosecutors have appealed the “unduly lenient” punishment handed down in July to Norwegian Magnus Meyer Hustveit, who admitted to raping his girlfriend in her sleep.
Hustveit, 25, from Sandvika, south of Oslo, confessed to what he had done in an email to his ex-girlfriend sent after they broke up.
“I guess it must be under ten times,” he wrote. “It is really difficult. I did it for short-term gratification. I convinced myself it was a victimless crime because you were asleep. Now I’ve written this, you can have me prosecuted. I hope you won’t.”
According to the Irishwoman, who is 28, Hustveit first admitted to raping her in her sleep in early 2012, a few months after they had moved in together in 2011.
When she woke up to find herself wet with semen, she confronted him, and he confessed to what he had done.
Despite her anger and unhappiness, they continued living together, and several weeks later she woke again feeling as if she had been penetrated and finding Hustveit masturbating and watching pornography on his computer in the bed next to her.
In the incriminating email Hustveit wrote sent months later, he confessed to frequently using her sleeping body for his sexual gratification, taking advantage of her heavy sleep, often under the influence of medication.
“I didn’t want to hurt you, I just wanted to come. I used the fact I wasn’t allowed watch porn or masturbate as an excuse,” Hustveit wrote in the incriminating email he sent months later.
The woman said that after the assaults she had faced major anxiety issues, an eating disorder and tried to commit suicide and prosecutors on Thursday pointed to the victim’s trauma as evidence that the Norwegian had gotten off to easily.
According to the Independent, prosecutor Mary Rose Gearty told the Court of Appeal that she did not believe that Hustveit was "filled with remorse" and had taken "responsibility for what he had done”. She called his betrayal of his former girlfriend’s trust “extraordinary”.
After the Norwegian pleaded guilty to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault in July 2015 and was sentenced to a fully suspended jail sentence, Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) called on the Irish public prosecutor to appeal the verdict to ensure that Hustveit serves time in jail.
“We are very surprised considering the severity of the crimes that he committed,” Clíona Saidléar, RCNI’s acting executive director, said at the time.
A decision on the appeal is due in March.
Comments
See Also
The Irish Independent has reported that prosecutors have appealed the “unduly lenient” punishment handed down in July to Norwegian Magnus Meyer Hustveit, who admitted to raping his girlfriend in her sleep.
Hustveit, 25, from Sandvika, south of Oslo, confessed to what he had done in an email to his ex-girlfriend sent after they broke up.
“I guess it must be under ten times,” he wrote. “It is really difficult. I did it for short-term gratification. I convinced myself it was a victimless crime because you were asleep. Now I’ve written this, you can have me prosecuted. I hope you won’t.”
According to the Irishwoman, who is 28, Hustveit first admitted to raping her in her sleep in early 2012, a few months after they had moved in together in 2011.
When she woke up to find herself wet with semen, she confronted him, and he confessed to what he had done.
Despite her anger and unhappiness, they continued living together, and several weeks later she woke again feeling as if she had been penetrated and finding Hustveit masturbating and watching pornography on his computer in the bed next to her.
In the incriminating email Hustveit wrote sent months later, he confessed to frequently using her sleeping body for his sexual gratification, taking advantage of her heavy sleep, often under the influence of medication.
“I didn’t want to hurt you, I just wanted to come. I used the fact I wasn’t allowed watch porn or masturbate as an excuse,” Hustveit wrote in the incriminating email he sent months later.
The woman said that after the assaults she had faced major anxiety issues, an eating disorder and tried to commit suicide and prosecutors on Thursday pointed to the victim’s trauma as evidence that the Norwegian had gotten off to easily.
According to the Independent, prosecutor Mary Rose Gearty told the Court of Appeal that she did not believe that Hustveit was "filled with remorse" and had taken "responsibility for what he had done”. She called his betrayal of his former girlfriend’s trust “extraordinary”.
After the Norwegian pleaded guilty to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault in July 2015 and was sentenced to a fully suspended jail sentence, Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) called on the Irish public prosecutor to appeal the verdict to ensure that Hustveit serves time in jail.
“We are very surprised considering the severity of the crimes that he committed,” Clíona Saidléar, RCNI’s acting executive director, said at the time.
A decision on the appeal is due in March.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.