HÄRNÖSAND, April 10: A Swedish man suspected of exploiting his "vulnerable" wife to have sex with scores of men for payment, goes on trial on Friday for aggravated pimping, rape and assault.
Around 120 men are implicated in the case, which has caused shock in Sweden and comparisons with Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot, whose husband was convicted in 2024 of drugging her and letting scores of men rape her while unconscious.
The 62-year-old Swedish suspect, who denies the charges, was arrested in October after his wife reported him to police in the north of the country.
He has been in custody ever since.
According to the charges, the man, who is reportedly a former Hell's Angel, had for years made money from pressuring his wife "to perform and submit to sexual acts".
The man is accused of creating online adverts, setting up meetings, keeping guard and pressuring the woman to perform sexual acts online in order to attract more clients.
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The prosecutor labelled it "ruthless exploitation".
The accused's lawyer told AFP the man admitted being "part of" his wife's "business" -- "to a certain extent" -- but had not "facilitated it" or used any pressure or violence.
Under Sweden's law on prostitution, selling sex is not illegal. But paying for sex or facilitating its sale is against the law.
In addition to being charged with aggravated pimping and four assaults, the suspect is charged with eight rapes and four attempted rapes.
The rape charges include one incident when the suspect allegedly compelled his wife to have sex with a particular client and several where he made her perform sexual acts on herself for online videos.
Such offences are classed as rape under Swedish law because the victim had not given consent.
Prosecutor Ida Annerstedt told AFP the woman, who was described as being "vulnerable" on the charge sheet, had, to "some extent", "agreed to sell sex" but had objected to doing so with certain people or under certain circumstances.
"She had certain boundaries. There are situations where he didn't respect those boundaries and steamrollered her after she said 'no'. In these instances, he is charged with attempted rape or rape," Annerstedt told AFP.
Annerstedt told AFP that authorities had identified around 120 individuals suspected of having bought sexual services, of whom Swedish media says 26 have been charged.
The trial starting on Friday at the Angermanland district court only concerns the husband.
The offences allegedly occurred between August 11, 2022, and October 21, 2025.
Martina Michaelsdotter, the accused's lawyer, told AFP that her client disputed the charges against him.
"He admits that he has, to a certain extent, been part of what is really the plaintiff's business," she said. But he insisted he had "not facilitated it" and there had not been any pressure or violence.
"He's helped out with technical issues and administrative parts," Michaelsdotter said.
