A Somali national in Sweden has been jailed for eight years for multiple aggravated rapes against elderly women under his care, but cannot be deported after he attained Swedish citizenship.
Baasim Yusuf, 28, was sentenced this week by the Uppsala District Court after being convicted on two counts of aggravated rape, three counts of aggravated sexual assault, and five counts of possessing offensive photography after filming his victims in compromising positions, in addition to minor drug offenses.
The crimes pertain to his employment at Förenade Care’s home service in Uppsala from December 2023 to August 2024 during which he would visit vulnerable elderly clients to provide domestic care.
The court heard how he targeted four women aged between 77 and 88, two of whom suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and forced them to commit sex acts and also forced himself on them.
During the trial, the public prosecutor described the offenses as particularly heinous due to Yusuf’s abuse of his position of trust, accusing the Somali of predatory behavior and exploiting the victims’ age, health, and dependence on him as their caregiver.
During one assault, Yusuf subjected a 77-year-old woman with dementia to a violent rape and filmed the ordeal. An 88-year-old victim with Alzheimer’s reported that Yusuf continued to rape her despite her pleas to stop, later demanding money and making taunting remarks.
In another instance, Yusuf forced a victim to perform sexual acts on him, acts that he also recorded. The assaults were part of a pattern of abuse that included five instances of offensive photography, where Yusuf filmed his crimes for his own gratification.
Yusuf’s behavior during the investigation further highlighted the brutality of his actions. During his initial police interview, he laughed when confronted with the charges. Although he admitted to certain actions, he denied intent to commit crimes, claiming that the victims had consented to intercourse and that he hoped to be compensated financially. These claims starkly contrasted with the victims’ testimonies, which described immense physical and emotional pain.
During sentencing, Uppsala District Court remarked on the particularly reckless and exploitative nature of Yusuf’s actions, stating that the severity of the crimes warranted a penalty exceeding the minimum for such offenses.
Yusuf received an eight-year prison sentence but cannot be deported under current laws due to holding Swedish citizenship since 2018.
Rapes committed by foreigners have been a talking point in Sweden this week following a report published by a research group at Lund University which showed that between the years of 2000 and 2020, 63.1 percent of all those convicted of rape, aggravated rape, or attempted rape were first or second-generation immigrants.
Just over half, 50.6 percent, were born abroad.
“It is a strong overrepresentation,” the report’s lead author Ardavan Khoshnood, an associate professor at the university, told Samnytt.