92-year-old woman was raped in hospital – investigation was dropped

Newly operated and hooked up to an IV, the 92-year-old woman was raped by a male nursing assistant at a hospital in Malmö. Despite her testimony, witness statements, and documented injuries in her genital area, the investigation was dropped. This case is far from the only one where elderly people have been sexually assaulted by those assigned to care for them, only to be humiliated again by the justice system. In four years, 88 care and welfare employees have been reported to the police for raping elderly people – only nine of the rapists have been convicted.

Until last autumn, the 92-year-old woman led an active and largely independent life. She continued living in her townhouse, played bridge, met friends, and only needed limited support from home care services. On September 22 last year, everything changed.

After suddenly experiencing severe pain, she was taken by ambulance to Skåne University Hospital in Malmö. It turned out she had a ruptured stomach ulcer and she underwent surgery the following day.

The morning after the surgery, while she was lying with an IV, a male nursing assistant entered the room to change her catheter bag. According to the woman, the man first moved aside the bedside table where her mobile phone lay. Then, he began penetrating her with his fingers.

– I said, “Don’t touch me, you’re not allowed.” But he didn’t care.

The woman says she tried to defend herself, but one hand was restricted by the IV, and the man was considerably stronger.

– I was lying there, newly operated on and defenseless. I was afraid he was going to kill me.

She cannot say for sure how long the assault lasted but estimates it could have been up to 15 minutes.

The bed was changed, erasing evidence

When a nurse entered a short while later, the woman said nothing. She describes being in shock and hardly able to grasp what had happened. It wasn’t until after the shift change a couple of hours later that she raised the alarm.

Staff then fetched the ward manager. The woman was taken to the bathroom while her bed was changed. The 92-year-old woman immediately reacted as she feared potential traces of the assault would be removed.

– I started to protest and said they were risking destroying all the evidence. But they didn’t listen.

She also reports being told not to discuss the incident with other staff. Later, a counselor helped her file a police report, and two police officers came to the hospital. The woman herself requested that biological samples be secured, which was done the following day.

“I felt so dirty”

After being discharged, the woman felt very unwell.

– I felt so dirty. I cried, felt ruined, and needed support. But I had to take care of it on my own.

Initially, she isolated herself and avoided other people. Later, she sought out the Trauma Center in Malmö, where she met with a counselor and psychologist about ten times. It took six weeks before she managed to tell her children what she says she had been subjected to.

It was not until two months after the incident that she was called to a police interview lasting over two hours. There was supporting evidence for her account. People she had spoken to after the incident could testify to what she had said, and her medical records contained notes of redness and irritation in her genital area.

Similar types of supporting evidence have appeared in other cases where care or welfare staff have been convicted of sexual offences against elderly women. But in this case, it was not enough for the prosecutor to take the matter to court.

The assistant denied the allegations – investigation was closed

The accused nursing assistant denied any crime. Prosecutor Louise Jangvert deemed the supporting evidence not strong enough to proceed, and the investigation was closed. For the 92-year-old woman, the decision was another hard blow — not being believed by the justice system.

– It felt like a slap in the face after everything I’ve been through.

She is also critical of the hospital’s actions. According to her, no one from the healthcare system has contacted her in the year since the incident.

The hospital’s operations manager wants to provide a different account when Sydsvenskan calls. He states that the hospital takes such allegations very seriously and that the woman received professional support and help filing a report.

The nursing assistant was suspended from work and the hospital conducted an internal investigation. According to the operations manager, the internal investigation did not provide sufficient support to conclusively determine that the alleged assault took place.

The operations manager also denies the woman’s claim that she was encouraged to stay silent and states that procedures were followed when the woman was washed and the bed was changed. He explains that the reason the hospital hasn’t contacted her since is that there was no further care commitment after her hospital stay.

The woman, however, stands by her account and says that other staff overheard when she was advised not to talk to the staff about the incident.

Almost two reports a month

The Malmö case is part of a much larger problem concerning sexual assaults on the elderly in healthcare and welfare services. A compilation by criminologist Anders Östlund at the Swedish Police, produced for Sveriges Radio Ekot, shows that 88 people working in healthcare and welfare have been reported to police for rapes against the elderly in the past four years.

Most of those reported worked within home care services. That corresponds to an average of 22 people reported per year – nearly two per month.

Only nine out of the 88 perpetrators have been convicted of rape. The police also emphasize that the number of unreported cases is believed to be high. Elderly people may feel ashamed and therefore refrain from telling anyone. Others are ill, confused, or have dementia, making it difficult to explain what happened or to identify a perpetrator. This also makes these crimes hard to investigate.

Police statistics previously reviewed by SVT show 143 reports since 2022 of rapes against elderly women where the perpetrator was unknown to the victim. A large proportion of the suspects were staff in home care or nursing homes.

Experts there also point out that the actual number of assaults is likely considerably higher than the number of reports. In nearly all cases reviewed and reported by Samnytt, the perpetrator had a non-Western immigrant background.

IVO: Elderly exposed to serious misconduct

Sexual offences are just one part of the misconduct reported in elderly care. The Health and Social Care Inspectorate, IVO, reviewed 1,430 Lex Sarah reports from elderly care from 2023–2025.

The majority concerned omitted or incorrectly performed interventions. But 150 reports involved elderly people who had been subjected to physical violence, assaults, or sexual abuse by staff. IVO mentions, among other things, sexual violence and inappropriate touching, but also hitting, shoving, restraint, rough handling, and other physical violations.

A further 170 reports dealt with poor treatment, psychological abuse, or violations. IVO’s conclusion is that the elderly are still subjected to both serious misconduct and considerable risks for such within Swedish elderly care.

New cases continue to be revealed

The problem has also come into focus through several high-profile legal cases. In Uppsala, a home care worker was sentenced in 2025 to eight years in prison after raping and severely sexually assaulting several elderly women. The crimes were uncovered in part through films found by the police.

As recently as October 1 this year, a former home care worker in Sundsvall was sentenced to six years in prison for two rapes and two cases of sexual molestation against elderly female care recipients. The man had committed the assaults against women he met through his work.

For the 92-year-old woman in Malmö, however, there has been no judicial review. The investigation was closed and the accused nursing assistant has not been charged. She herself describes how the incident still affects her.

– I feel polluted. I’ve lived a wonderful marriage with grown children and grandchildren. Then you have to endure this when you think you’re safe in a hospital.