Swedish court sentences man to 4 years, 5 months for coercing his wife into prostitution with 120 men

The trial

A district court in Härnösand, on Sweden’s eastern coast, handed down the verdict on Tuesday after a 19-day trial. The accused, named by the newspaper Expressen as Tomas Runsten, a 61-year-old former member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, had been in custody since October 2025, when his wife escaped their remote farm and reported him to police.

The court convicted him of aggravated procurement (aggravated pimping), one count of attempted rape, two counts of assault, six counts of unlawful threats, and a minor doping offence. It also ordered him to pay damages of 200,000 kronor ($21,300) to his wife.

“The man influenced and coerced his wife into performing sexual acts on herself, broadcasting them online, receiving additional sex buyers, and attempting to persuade neighbours and customers to have sex with her. In many cases, this was also done through prolonged nagging and the use of unpleasant and condescending language.”

The acquittals

Prosecutors had sought a 10-year sentence and charged him with eight counts of rape and three of attempted rape, but the court dismissed those charges. In seven cases it could not establish that the woman’s participation was involuntary; in the eighth, the specific sexual acts were unclear.

The abuse

According to prosecutors, the man began forcing his wife into paid sex in 2022. The buyers travelled to the couple’s secluded home in Kramfors from across the country. He made her dependent on drugs and alcohol, used surveillance cameras to control her, and threatened to kill her, pour petrol on her, and cut off her fingers. The woman knew a blind spot in the camera layout and used it to escape before calling the police. The man reportedly earned more than 500,000 kronor (€46,000) from the scheme.

“He threatened her that if she angered him, ‘the monster would be released’.”

The buyers

Twenty-nine men were charged with purchasing sexual services; 28 were convicted on a total of 56 counts. Two of them received prison terms, while the rest were given fines or probation. In Sweden, buying sex is illegal but selling it is not, with sex workers treated as exploited victims.

International echoes

The case has drawn parallels to that of Dominique Pelicot in France, who was convicted of drugging his wife Gisèle and allowing other men to rape her over nine years. The comparison has fuelled debate in Sweden about the treatment of sexual coercion and the adequacy of sentences.