Court of Appeal upholds prison sentence for home care worker convicted of raping partially paralyzed client
The Helsinki Court of Appeal has upheld a prison sentence for a 30-year-old man convicted of raping a partially paralyzed woman under his care in Vantaa in July 2022. Fahad Al-Nuaimi, an Iraqi national employed as a home care assistant at the time, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, Ilta-Sanomat reports.
The victim, who required assistance due to her condition, was sexually assaulted by Al-Nuaimi during a home care visit. The Court of Appeal confirmed the district court’s earlier ruling, rejecting Al-Nuaimi’s appeal.
Additional allegations and prior incidents
Ilta-Sanomat’s investigation reveals that Al-Nuaimi was also suspected of other offenses, though no further convictions were secured. In one case, he was accused of sexually harassing a woman on the same day as the rape, but prosecutors dropped the charges due to insufficient evidence.
Earlier in 2022, Al-Nuaimi was reported for minor assault after allegedly kicking his then-girlfriend in the shin during an argument. However, the investigation was discontinued at the woman’s request, Ilta-Sanomat states. Police were also called to intervene in a separate domestic incident involving the same girlfriend.
At the time of the district court’s rape conviction, Al-Nuaimi had no permanent address, employment, or active studies in Finland. Iltalehti reports that he had previously moved to Switzerland for a few years before returning to Finland in 2017 to study surface treatment, though he later dropped out.
Immigration status and potential deportation
Al-Nuaimi, who arrived in Finland as an asylum seeker, has not obtained Finnish citizenship. Under Finnish law, foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes may face deportation if authorities submit a proposal to the Finnish Immigration Service. Ilta-Sanomat reports that no such proposal has been made in his case.
The case has drawn attention due to Al-Nuaimi’s previous interactions with public figures. Iltalehti notes that he had falsely claimed to former Prime Minister Juha Sipilä (Centre Party) that he was a victim of mistaken identity in an unrelated matter. Sipilä later clarified that he had no further involvement in the case.