An Oslo court rejected on Wednesday an application by Crown Princess Mette-Marit's son, Marius Borg Høiby, to serve the remainder of his pre-trial detention on rape charges at home with an electronic tag, saying there is a strong likelihood that he would reoffend.
"I am in isolation in prison in Oslo and have extremely little human contact - two or three visits per week," Høiby told the court, according to the newspaper Verdens Gang.
He wanted to wait for the verdict against him, expected in early June, in his flat at the residence of his mother and her husband Crown Prince Haakon.
The rape trial against the princess' son ended in March. Høiby has been in pre-trial detention since the start of proceedings in early February after violating a contact ban relating to an ex-girlfriend.
The court had already rejected an earlier request for release, citing "the seriousness and scope of the case as well as the high risk of reoffending." The judge in charge also rejected the electronic tag on Wednesday because of a "significant risk of reoffending."
According to research by the Norwegian news agency NTB, only 12 of almost 800 people are currently serving their pre-trial detention with an electronic tag.
In the weeks-long trial, Høiby faced 40 charges including four counts of rape. He reportedly filmed the alleged victims during the acts.
At the end of the trial, prosecutors demanded seven years and seven months in prison. Høiby's defence lawyers, by contrast, argued for a prison sentence of 18 months and argued that he should be acquitted of the rape charges.
