"I understand this to mean that even if rape while sleeping should still be considered a serious sexual crime, the punishment should normally be set lower than for rape committed through violence or threats," says Judge Cecilie Østensen Berglund, according to NTB.
A young man was previously sentenced to three years and two months in prison for raping a teenager while she was sleeping, NTB reports. The rape allegedly took place after a party, and both were allegedly drunk. The Supreme Court has now reduced the sentence to one and a half years.
The Supreme Court ruling could have implications for Norway's "bonus prince", Marius Borg Høiby. He is charged with four counts of rape, which allegedly occurred while the victims were sleeping.
"This will clearly have significance for the Høiby case," lawyer Petar Sekulic tells NRK.
In a Norwegian context, "sleep rape" is defined as rape of a person who is sleeping, and according to case law, sleep is considered a state in which one is unable to resist sexual intercourse.
