Appeal court upholds rape conviction and two-year sentence

Iceland’s Landsréttur appeal court has upheld a two-year prison sentence for a man convicted of raping a woman who stayed at his home in 2024, mbl.is reported. He must also pay her 1.6 million kroner in compensation, plus interest.

The ruling confirmed a judgment issued by the District Court of East Iceland on December 16 last year. The man had sought acquittal or, alternatively, a lighter suspended sentence. Prosecutors had called for a harsher penalty.

The woman was staying with the man and his partner after going to an event with them. She went to sleep in a guest room and woke to find the man groping her buttocks and trying to force his penis into her anus. She moved away, but he moved closer and tried again. He stopped only after she moved away a second time.

The man was convicted of rape for engaging in sexual acts other than intercourse without her consent. He said he had no memory of events after part of the evening and until police arrived at his home the next morning. The appeal court found that account inconsistent with testimony from witnesses who said he had been drinking, talking and playing games at the kitchen table after returning home.

The court also found the woman’s account clear, consistent and credible. Her testimony was supported by people she contacted after the assault, while a doctor and midwife who examined her at an emergency reception unit confirmed redness in the area described in the indictment. The court upheld the conviction and sentence. The man was also ordered to pay nearly 2.8 million kroner in appeal costs.