Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Swedish appeals court Monday handed a French photographer a tougher sentence than the district court, determing that he is guilty of two rapes and not just one seven years ago.
Jean-Claude Arnault's connection to the Swedish Academy resulted in the panel not awarding the Nobel Prize in literature this year but will bestow two honors next year.
In October, the Stockholm district court reached a unanimous verdict and Judge Gudrun Antemar in Stockholm sentenced Arnault, 72, to the minimum sentence of two years in prison.
Arnault, who has declared his innocence, can appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Svea Court of Appeals sentenced him to 2 1/2 years in prison for the rape of the same woman in October and December 2011. Arnault also was ordered to pay the victim $24,000.
In a statement, the appeals judges said the trial had determned "beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was guilty of rape also on this occasion." In addition, the victim and several witnesses were "reliable and that the evidence is sufficient for a conviction."
Arnault forced the woman, who was in a state of "intense fear" according to the prosecution, to have oral sex and intercourse in a Stockholm apartment. Two months later, he raped her while she was asleep, the prosecution said.
Eighteen women have come forward with sexual assault charges against Arnault, including many allegedly occurring on the property of the Swedish Academy. Seven of the eight filed cases were dropped as they exceeded the statute of limitations or lacked necessary evidence.
The academy said it was informed about accusations of sexual assault against Arnault in 1996, but took no action.
Arnault's wife, Katarina Frostenson, was a member of the academy. Frostenson and six of the academy's 18 other members resigned in April after the allegations.
The Frenchman also ran the Forum club where aspiring young authors hoped to make contact with publishers and writers.
