Jean-Claude Arnault

Jean-Claude Arnault (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ klod aʁno]; born 15 August 1946), known in Swedish media as kulturprofilen ("the cultural personage", but commonly translated literally as "the cultural profile"),[1][2] is a French-Swedish convicted sex offender. He worked as a photographer and is the former artistic director of the cultural center Forum – Nutidsplats för kultur ("Forum – Contemporary Scene for Culture") Stockholm.

Jean-Claude Arnault
Arnault in Stockholm District Court during the last day of the trial in September 2018
Born(1946-08-15)15 August 1946
Marseille, France
NationalityFrench
Occupations
  • Photographer
  • Artistic director
SpouseKatarina Frostenson
Criminal penalty2 years and 6 months
The entrance to Forum.

Arnault became widely known after several accusations of sexual assault levelled against him precipitated a scandal resulting in the resignations of members of the Nobel Committee and the postponement of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature. These events occurred against the background of the Me Too movement. In 2018, he was found guilty of two sexual assaults and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.[3][4][5] He appealed the sentence to the Supreme Court of Sweden on the basis of judicial disqualification.[6] On 5 May 2019, the court decided not to grant leave to appeal and the verdict from the lower court was subsequently enforced.[7]

Life

Arnault was born in Marseille, France. He won Natur & Kultur's cultural award in 2008.[8] He is married to former Swedish Academy member Katarina Frostenson.[9]

Sexual assault allegations and rape conviction

In November 2017, in the wake of the Me Too movement, eighteen women accused Arnault of sexual assault, alleged to have occurred over the course of 20 years.[10] This caused the Swedish Academy to break all financial ties with him.[11][12] Swedish media have reported that he groped Swedish Crown Princess Victoria at an academy event in 2006.[13]

At the same time, his wife Katarina Frostenson was accused of corruption for not informing the Swedish Academy about conflicts of interest when distributing subsidies for her husband's cultural center. The Swedish Academy believes he leaked the names of seven winners of the Nobel Prize in literature.[9]

Arnault denied all allegations.[14][15] On 1 October 2018, Arnault was convicted of one count of rape and sentenced to two years in prison as well as a SEK 115,000 fine.[16][5] Arnault appealed the verdict.[17] On 3 December 2018, the Svea Court of Appeal increased the sentence and found Arnault guilty of two counts of rape and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison. The fine was raised to SEK 215,000.[3]

Following his conviction, Arnault was also stripped of his knighthood in the Order of the Polar Star, which he had been granted in 2015.[18]

Repercussions
Main article: Nobel Prize in Literature § 2018 controversy and award cancellation

In the wake of the accusations, the Swedish Academy suffered a considerable blow to its reputation.[10] Academy member Klas Östergren left the academy and academy members Sara Danius, Peter Englund, Kjell Espmark and Frostenson ceased taking part in the academy's work, leading to concerns about the future of the academy.[19] On 27 April 2018, Sara Stridsberg left the academy[20] in solidarity with Sara Danius. Due to the scandal and a perceived tarnishing of the Nobel Committee's reputation, the Nobel Prize in Literature was postponed until 2019.[21][22][23] The New Academy Prize in Literature was created as an alternative to the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature.[24]

Imprisonment

Arnault was an inmate in Skogome Prison, a high-security prison for sex offenders; Swedish media reported that he was disciplined for breaking prison rules by making sexist comments towards a female warder.[25] In late 2019 he was transferred to another prison at Tillberga.[26] Arnault was conditionally released from prison in May 2020.[27]

References
  1. Krisens kärna – ”Akademien legitimerade Arnault", SVD
  2. Scandal in Sweden: Nobel prize for literature faces #MeToo moment, The Guardian
  3. "Tougher sentence for Jean-Claude Arnault after appeals trial". The Local. No. 3 December 2018. The Local. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  4. Henley, Jon (1 October 2018). "Jean-Claude Arnault, man at centre of Nobel scandal, jailed for rape". the Guardian.
  5. Malmgren, Kim; Wikström, Mattis (1 October 2018). "Jean-Claude Arnault döms till två års fängelse" [Jean-Claude Arnault sentenced to two years in prison]. Expressen. Expressen. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  6. "Överklagandet från den man som i media benämns som "kulturprofilen" – Högsta domstolen skjuter på prövningen" (in Swedish). Supreme Court of Sweden. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020.
  7. "Den man som i media benämns som "kulturprofilen" får inte prövningstillstånd - Högsta domstolen". Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  8. "Tidigare års kulturpristagare – Natur och Kultur". www.nok.se. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  9. Flood, Alison (4 May 2018). "Nobel prize in literature 2018 cancelled after sexual assault scandal". the Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  10. Anderson, Christina (1 October 2018). "Jean-Claude Arnault, Central Figure in Nobel Scandal, Is Jailed for Rape". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  11. "Uppgifter: Kulturprofilen läckte Nobelpristagare – Nyheter (Ekot)". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  12. "Jean-Claude Arnaults maktspel – hot, löften och misstänkta övergrepp". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  13. Noack, Rick (4 May 2018). "Nobel literature prize canceled this year, following academy's own #MeToo scandal". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  14. "Sara Stridsberg lämnar Svenska Akadamien". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  15. "Photographer 'groped' princess at Swedish Academy event – BBC News". BBC News. 29 April 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  16. Lindkvist, Hugo (1 October 2018). "Kulturprofilen döms till fängelse för våldtäkt" [The cultural profile sentenced to prison for rape]. Dagens Nyheter. Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  17. "Kulturprofilen överklagar våldtäktsdomen [The cultural profile appeals his rape verdict]". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Stockholm. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  18. "Återkallelse av riddarvärdighet av Nordstjärneorden - Sveriges Kungahus". www.kungahuset.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  19. "Chair no. 13 – Sara Stridsberg". The Swedish Academy. Archived from the original on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  20. "Swedish Academy misconduct crisis deepens as member Stridsberg leaves". Reuters. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  21. Henley, Jon; Flood, Alison (4 May 2018). "Nobel prize in literature 2018 cancelled after sexual assault scandal". the Guardian.
  22. "Rape charges in Nobel Prize scandal". BBC News. 12 June 2018.
  23. Brown, Andrew (17 July 2018). "The ugly scandal that cancelled the Nobel prize" – via www.theguardian.com.
  24. Löfgren, Emma (29 August 2018). "Four writers shortlisted for 'the new Nobel Literature Prize'". The Local. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  25. Arnault i fängelset: Hade det inte varit snyggt om ni haft bikinis på er?
  26. Kulturprofilen Arnault flyttas till Tillbergaanstalten
  27. Arnault släpps ut från fängelset – flyttar hem
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