Sweden charges man for selling wife to over 100 men

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STOCKHOLM — A Swedish prosecutor on Monday charged a man, suspected of selling his wife's sexual services to over 120 men, with aggravated pimping, several rapes and assault.

The man, 62, was arrested in late October after his wife reported him to police in northern Sweden. He has been held in custody since then.

According to the charge sheet, the man had for years benefitted financially from pressuring his wife "to perform and submit to sexual acts".

The man was accused of creating ads online, setting up meetings, keeping guard and pressuring the woman to perform sexual acts online in order to attract more clients.

He was also accused of being violent and threatening her, exploiting her fear of him and taking advantage of her drug addiction.

The prosecutor labelled it "ruthless exploitation".

The charges also detailed several threats made to the plaintiff, with some of them including warnings about unleashing "the monster".

Prosecutor Ida Annerstedt told AFP in February the authorities had identified some 120 individuals suspected of having bought sexual services.

The incidents were alleged to have occurred between August 11, 2022, and October 21, 2025.

In addition to being charged with aggravated pimping, the man -- who denies the accusations -- was also charged with eight rapes.

They include one incident with a client and several incidents where she was made to perform sexual acts to herself.

He was also charged with four attempted rapes and four assaults.

Silvia Ingolfsdottir, a lawyer representing the woman, told AFP the charges resulted from the "serious and aggravated crimes" her client had been a victim of.

"She now hopes to obtain justice," Ingolfsdottir said in a text message.

According to public broadcaster SVT, the man had previously been a high-ranking member of biker group Hells Angels.

The broadcaster also said the trial had been preliminarily scheduled to start on April 13.