To decide whether to initiate criminal proceedings, the Office of the Prosecutor General analyzed the circumstances identified during the Social Insurance Board's (SKA) oversight process and reviewed evidence collected in a criminal case concerning sexual abuse. The prosecution assessed the care home's operations in organizing the work of caregivers and assistant caregivers, as well as the hiring process for the assistant caregiver who has been charged by the Northern District Prosecutor's Office with sexual abuse.

Although both the SKA's oversight reports and the evidence gathered in the criminal investigation suggest that Pihlakodu's work organization was deficient, the Office of the Prosecutor General determined that these shortcomings were not causally related to the sexual crimes for which the former assistant caregiver has been charged. In other words, the risk of sexual abuse could not have been entirely prevented, even if the care home's operations had not had the shortcomings identified by the SKA.

Specifically, the evidence shows that, in the cases examined, the assistant caregiver accused of sexual crimes worked alongside a female caregiver and was aware that one resident had expressed a desire not to be cared for by male staff. At the start of his employment, Pihlakodu had checked the assistant caregiver's background through the national criminal record registry, which showed no prior convictions, and the quality of his work was monitored and addressed appropriately during his employment.

Therefore, in the view of the Office of the Prosecutor General, it cannot be claimed that Pihlakodu should have foreseen or could have foreseen the risk of a sexual offense by a male employee, much less prevented that risk from materializing.

In conclusion, after reviewing the materials in the criminal case file, the SKA oversight report and related documents, the Office of the Prosecutor General found that the sexual offenses allegedly committed by a single employee represented an unforeseeable risk for Pihlakodu AS. The care home had taken the required measures to mitigate such risks but could neither have predicted nor entirely prevented them. As a result, the occurrence of the crime was unavoidable from the care home's standpoint.

Under the law, a legal entity is not held responsible for an offense if the commission of the act was unavoidable for it. Therefore, the Office of the Prosecutor General will not initiate criminal proceedings against Pihlakodu.

The victim has the right to contest the decision not to initiate proceedings in a district court within 30 days.

On April 9, Eesti Ekspress reported that although the criminal investigation revealed multiple victims in the rape case at the Pihlakodu care home, prosecutors see no fault on the part of the care home itself. According to Pealtnägija, the man had eight victims.

The court proceedings will address only the criminal acts themselves, as prosecutors believe there is insufficient evidence that the sexual abuse caused health damage to the residents with dementia.

"Not every non-consensual sexual act necessarily causes mental or physical harm," prosecutor Arika Lepp, who led the investigation, told Eesti Ekspress.

The prosecutor's position has sparked widespread public outrage and has been criticized by both ordinary citizens and legal scholars and practitioners.

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