"The Ghost Man" got his name after a series of rapes and assaults in Tensta, Stockholm in the 1980s, when he masked himself with a piece of fabric with cut-out holes for his eyes.
He was sentenced to four years in prison in 1988, but has since been convicted of several more rapes and other crimes.
For example, he was convicted in 2017 for raping two women in Varberg and again in 2020 after a rape outside Gothenburg.
He is now suspected of raping a woman in the Gothenburg area last autumn and has been detained since the end of October.
Can increase sentence
I'm familiar with his previous criminal history, of course. But my focus has been on this investigation, so I don't have much to say about the previous convictions, says prosecutor Mikael Sjöholm.
However, there is a possibility to invoke a sentencing rule that exists in the penal code. Since he has committed crimes before, it may have an impact on the sentencing.
The rape that the man is now suspected of occurred in a storage room at the end of October.
The man and the woman had had brief contact earlier, after which he began sending her a large number of messages.
Denies the crime
According to the indictment, he wrote, among other things, "You won't get away" and "They'll pick you up".
She has been subjected to pressure and some threatening messages as well, which is why he is also being prosecuted for unlawful threats, says Mikael Sjöholm.
In the end, the woman agreed to meet him. "The Ghost Man" is suspected of then threatening the woman with a knife and raping her.
The woman has been in a very vulnerable situation, says the prosecutor.
The man denies the allegations.
He denies the crime. I can't say more right now, but it will develop in court, says his defense attorney Stefan Fredin.
The Alexandra Man: Took contact with young girls online under the alias Alexandra, claiming to be able to arrange modeling jobs. Was sentenced to ten years in prison and deportation in 2007 for rape, harassment, and gross sexual exploitation of minors. The crimes targeted around 50 girls and young women.
The Haga Man: Was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2006 for six rapes and two attempted murders in Umeå between 1996 and 2005.
The Nytorget Man: Was convicted of a series of rapes and sexual assaults in his apartment at Nytorget in Stockholm. The Svea Court of Appeal established in 2022 a sentence of five years in prison for, among other things, seven rapes, eight sexual assaults, and six cases of sexual harassment. He was released from prison in March last year but has been detained again since November, suspected of raping a young woman in Hörby.
The Ghost Man: Attacked women in Tensta during the 1980s, in several cases involving completed rapes. Got his name because he covered his head with a piece of fabric with cut-out holes for his eyes. Was sentenced to four years in prison in 1988. Has also been convicted of several more rapes and has now been charged again.
The Söder Man: Was convicted in the 1970s and 1980s for around twenty cases of sexual assault, after breaking into women's apartments through windows and raping them, or attempting to rape them.
The Örebro Man: A 24-year-old in Örebro who was sentenced in 2011 to twelve years in prison for around ten cases of sexual assault, including two aggravated rapes.
