COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The lawyer of the man reportedly at the center of a sex-abuse scandal that has tarnished the reputation of the body that hands out the Nobel Prize in Literature says his client is the victim of "a witch hunt."

Bjorn Hurtig says allegations, including those of sexual misconduct, "may only have the purpose of harming" Jean-Claude Arnault.

Hurtig told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his client whom he didn't name rejects "as false and offensive" allegations he pawed Crown Princess Victoria 12 years ago by letting his hand slide down her back to her rear.

Last week, a leading Swedish newspaper quoted among others Ebba Witt-Brattstrom, the estranged wife of a Swedish Academy board member, as witnessing the incident, adding an aide to the princess quickly removed Arnault's hand.