Swedish court imprisons man convicted of pressuring his wife to sell sexual services

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STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish court on Tuesday convicted a man of charges including aggravated procurement for pressuring his wife into selling sex to a large number of other men, and sentenced him to four years and five months in prison.

The district court in the Angermanland region of northern Sweden also convicted the man, whose name it didn't release, of one count of attempted rape, two of assault, six of unlawful threats and a minor doping offense. It ordered him to pay damages of 200,000 kronor ($21,300) to his wife.

The man has been in custody since October after the woman reported the incidents to police. Prosecutors said earlier this year that he was suspected of selling sex with his wife to at least 120 men.

After a hearing that ended in late May, the court acquitted the defendant of eight counts of rape and another three of attempted rape.

It said that it was unable to establish in seven cases that the plaintiff's participation was involuntary and, in the other case, it wasn't clear what sexual acts took place.

The court established “that the man influenced and coerced his wife into performing sexual acts on herself, broadcasting them online, receiving additional sex buyers, and attempting to persuade neighbors and customers to have sex with her,” Judge Johan Ahlberg said in a statement. “In many cases, this was also done through prolonged nagging and the use of unpleasant and condescending language.”

The man has denied all the charges and claimed that he helped his wife, who allegedly wanted to sell sex, Swedish news agency TT reported.

Alongside the main suspect, 29 people were charged with the purchase of sexual services or acts. Twenty-eight of them were convicted of a total of 56 such purchases, the court said, and two were sent to prison.

Swedish law criminalizes buying sex and procuring it, but doesn't criminalize the selling of sex by sex workers, who are considered exploited victims.