Man convicted of rape, sent to jail for 2 yrs

The man at the centre of a sex-abuse and financial crimes scandal that is tarnishing the academy that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature was convicted of rape and sentenced to two years in prison on Monday.

Jean-Claude Arnault, a major cultural figure in Sweden, had faced two counts of rape of a woman in 2011.

He was found guilty of one rape, but was acquitted of the other because the victim said she was asleep and judges said her account wasn’t reliable.

Stockholm District Court said that the ruling was unanimous.

Judge Gudrun Antemar said the role of the court was to decide whether the prosecutor had proven the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

"The court's conclusion is that the evidence is enough to find the defendant guilty of one of the events," she said, adding the evidence "has mainly consisted of statements made during the trial by the injured party and several witnesses."

In Sweden, rape is punishable by a minimum of two years and a maximum of six years in prison.

Prosecutor Christina Voigt had demanded three years in prison for Arnault, who is married to a Swedish Academy member.

There were no immediate comments from Voigt or Arnault's lawyer, Bjorn Hurtig, who earlier had said they would appeal if he was convicted.

Arnault had denied the charges, which have rocked the prestigious academy, with seven members either being forced to leave or quitting in April.

In May, the academy announced that no prize would be awarded this year.