Ex-royal bodyguard charged with rape

An agent with Swedish security service Säpo who once served as a bodyguard for King Carl XVI Gustaf and Crown Princess Victoria has been charged with raping a woman near Uppsala in eastern Sweden.

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In addition to being indicted for aggravated rape, the 49-year-old Säpo agent is also being charged with obstructing justice for threatening to injure the woman’s son to such an extent that he would be “disabled for the rest of his life” if she reported the incident to police.

Prosecutor Monica Mimer believes she has a strong case against the man.

“I’m basing the charges on testimony from witnesses, the woman herself, and in addition I have forensic evidence,” she told the TT news agency.

According to the indictment, the woman accuses the 49-year-old of attacking her while she was sunning herself outside a summerhouse near Solvalla, east of Uppsala.

The man fastened the woman’s hands behind her back with handcuffs and then proceeded to rape her “from the early afternoon until the evening fell”, according to the indictment.

The Säpo officer is also accused of hitting the woman in the face at least five times and nearly chocking her twice, in addition to keeping his gun in sight of the woman throughout much of the ordeal.

At the time of the alleged attack, the woman was in the process of trying to break off some sort of relationship with the former royal bodyguard, according to Swedish media reports.

During the night following the rape, the 49-year-old then threatened to severely injure the woman’s son if she went to police about the matter.

Due to the sensitive nature of the crime, prosecutor Monica Mimer has classified all of the material related to the preliminary investigation.

The Säpo officer remains remanded in custody pending his trial before the Uppsala District Court, which is expected to start on January 11th.