Convicted sex offender still working as nurse, welfare region neither confirms nor denies

A man convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child continues to work as a nurse in the Kymenlaakso welfare region, according to a report by Finnish public broadcaster Yle.

The Kymenlaakso District Court sentenced the man to two years and four months in prison for repeatedly abusing a 13- to 15-year-old girl over a two-year period. The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction last week, and the man now intends to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The welfare region checks employees’ criminal records only at the start of employment, not during it. Finnish law does not permit repeated checks, according to Marjut Nieminen, the welfare region’s HR director. Criminal record extracts are requested by the job applicant themselves if the role involves working with children, the elderly, or disabled individuals.

Nieminen stated that any further action in criminal cases depends on factors such as the impact on the employer’s trust, job performance, and work with clients. She emphasized that in Finland, the Finnish Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) is responsible for restricting or revoking professional rights, not the employer.

Valvira’s legal expert, Anna Valkeajoki, noted that convictions for offenses committed outside of work are not, in themselves, legal grounds for intervening in professional rights. She stressed that employer self-regulation takes precedence over authority supervision, and that restricting or revoking professional rights is always a last resort, used only when necessary to ensure patient and client safety.

Yle reported that the man, when contacted at his workplace in late June, confirmed he was still employed and that his supervisor was aware of the conviction.