Shocking Cases of Sexual Assault in Swedish Elderly Care

Here are the men who have been convicted or suspected of raping elderly and sick women in Swedish elderly care. In just the past month, three men have been convicted or suspected of rapes in nursing homes and home care services across the country.

Last fall, 84-year-old Elsa came forward in UNT to share her story of being raped by a man in home care. Her story touched the entire nation.

But she is not alone in having been subjected to sexual crimes within elderly care. Recently, several men employed to care for the elderly have been convicted or detained for rapes in nursing homes. Several of these men had previously been suspected of sexual crimes.

Ali Hassan Zada Convicted in Värmland

Ali Hassan Zada, 40, worked alone in the elderly woman's ward in February this year, the night the brutal rape occurred.

The woman, aged between 80 and 90, required "help with virtually everything in daily life" due to her age and health condition, according to the verdict. Witnesses report that she has been scared, anxious, and has felt very unwell after the incident.

Ali Hassan Zada was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay 320,000 kronor in damages by the Värmland District Court. According to the court's ruling, he exploited his position as staff at the facility and the "victim's defenseless and vulnerable situation."

Ali Hassan Zada received Swedish citizenship at the end of January this year, just a month before the crime was committed. Before that, he was an Afghan citizen. Non-Swedish citizens risk deportation if convicted of crimes with a penalty value of at least six months in prison.

Former Politician Investigated Multiple Times

In June, former MP politician Angel Villaverde, 62, was sentenced to prison for raping a demented woman in her 80s in Timrå municipality.

Villaverde, who was working in home care at the time, visited a client on a night off in mid-April. The rape was discovered when the woman's son came home and found Villaverde without pants.

Villaverde was sentenced to three years and four months in prison and ordered to pay 270,000 kronor in damages. The verdict states that Angel Villaverde "improperly exploited the victim's particularly vulnerable situation."

He called the verdict "unfair and incorrect" but has not appealed.

This is the fourth time the former politician has been accused of similar crimes. On two previous occasions, accusations arose while he worked at a dementia care facility. Villaverde denied the allegations, and the investigations were dropped.

Andreas Mellin Convicted of 19 Rapes

For several years, care assistant Andreas Melin, 36, filmed himself raping dementia-stricken women at a nursing home in Lerum. He distributed the videos on porn sites.

Melin was charged with 24 counts of aggravated rape. In 2022, he was convicted of 19 of them, while the remaining five were deemed as aggravated sexual coercion.

Melin denied the crimes, initially claiming it was neither him in the videos nor him who distributed them online. After reviewing all the evidence, he changed his story, admitting it was him but claiming everything happened with consent.

The court dismissed this claim. He was first convicted in the district court and later in the court of appeal, where his sentence was increased to eight years and six months in prison. Alingsås District Court stated that he showed "particular ruthlessness and brutality" as the victims were in a defenseless position and unable to care for themselves.

Melin had previously been one of the local names for the Moderates in the 2010 election campaign and was given a seat in the municipal council.

Acquitted by Court of Appeal – Detained for Rape

In mid-June this year, a man in Kungälv municipality was detained on probable cause for rape and sexual molestation.

In May, a client awoke to find the man with his hand inside her clothes, reports Kungälvs-Posten.

Five months earlier, the same man allegedly subjected a person at a group home for adults to sexual molestation.

It was not the first time the man was suspected of sexual crimes – in 2021, he was charged with sexually molesting a patient at Kungälv Hospital. The man, who then worked as an orderly in the department, was dismissed from his position.

He was sentenced to community service but appealed and was completely acquitted by the court of appeal, reports Kungälvs-Posten.

Caught by a Colleague

A man in his 50s is charged with attempted aggravated rape at a nursing home in Varberg.

He had previously been suspended twice from his job in healthcare due to suspected abuse – but was allowed to return both times.

After the second incident, the man's manager announced he would be reassigned, prompting the man to resign and seek employment at a nursing home instead.

There, he is now suspected of attempting to rape a demented woman in her bed – but was interrupted by a colleague who entered the room.

The colleague testified that she saw the man pull down his pants and expose himself. When she asked what he was doing, he "rushed out."

– NN was red in the face and had a nervous smile and said nothing happened, the colleague said in testimony.

According to the prosecutor, the crime should be considered aggravated as the victim was in a particularly vulnerable situation due to her dementia and was dependent on the man.

Man in Eskilstuna Convicted

In April this year, a man in his 30s in Eskilstuna was charged with rape after he allegedly inserted his fingers into a client's genitals. He was sentenced in June to three years and six months in prison and ordered to pay 240,000 kronor in damages.

According to the prosecutor, the victim was in a particularly vulnerable situation due to her medical condition, which the man, as a care assistant, exploited.

The man had previously been suspended for suspected sexual abuse but was allowed to return as it was a case of word against word.