Posted on June 12, 2018 at 3:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The photographer whose scandal prompted the postponement of this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature has been charged with rape.

Jean-Claude Arnault was charged with two counts of rape dating back to 2011, the BBC reports. Both charges concern the same woman, who has not been publicly identified.

He denies the allegations, though Swedish prosecutor Christina Voigt told the BBC that the evidence against him "was robust and sufficient for prosecution."

In late 2017, eighteen women told a Swedish newspaper that Arnault had sexually harassed them.

Why does this concern the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel prizes?

First, Arnault’s original accusers claimed that some of the harassment occurred at properties owned by the academy.

Second, his wife, poet and writer Katarina Frostenson, was on the Nobel committee.

The academy voted to keep Frostenson on the committee in spite of the claims made against her husband, but she later resigned. 

It has said it will announce the 2018 literature winner next year, in conjunction with the 2019 winner, though recent comments from the Nobel Foundation's director indicate that's not a guarantee.

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Awards, Scandal

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