Western Uusimaa police department are investigating possible suspected criminal offences in the Vuorela children's home in Vihti.
"We have had a number of reports from there," said Maria Hietajärvi, who is leading the investigation. "In some cases we have managed to determine that there are acts that fit the definition of sex crimes and were perpetrated on young people."
Hietajärvi did not comment on the victims' or suspects' ages, but said that the suspected perpetrators were also from outside the home.
"Not all the parties involved here are children," said Hietajärvi.
According to MOT's information, the victims are children resident in the home.
Criminal offences not yet clear
At this stage, police are unable to specify which offences are under investigation.
Some investigations have progressed to a preliminary investigation, while others are still at the pre-trial stage.
"Several people have been named as involved, and we have had the opportunity to interview them," said Hietajärvi. "At this point we are mapping out what has happened and who is involved."
The police will not comment on the timing of the events being investigated at this stage of the investigation.
Sexual offences related to the Vuorela children's home have also been reported in the past. In 2021, an employee was sentenced to suspended imprisonment for sexually abusing a resident of the institution.
According to MOT, the new suspected crimes are not related to the staff of the school.
The authorities have intervened in the school home
Vuorela is one of Finland's state-run children's homes, or "school homes" (koulukoti in Finnish). It has 24 places for children and young people in need of care and support outside their homes.
In the past, various authorities have identified shortcomings at the institution.
The latest inspection decision by the Regional State Administrative Agencies dates back to 2024, and noted that some of the home's staff are not fully qualified.
In early 2024, the Parliamentary Ombudsman said the Vuorela school home had violated the Child Protection Act.
The decision was related to the isolation of a young person at Vuorela. According to the complaint, a counsellor had gotten into a violent situation with a resident of the school. The counsellor had acted inappropriately and had pulled the young person's hair.
In his decision, the Parliamentary Ombudsman drew attention to the fact that Vuorela's management did not inform the social worker in charge of the child about the situation that led to the use of force, as required by law.
The decision also stated that the school must familiarise new employees with legal use of restraint measures.
Head of school: we want to correct the shortcomings
Vuorela children's home is run by Maria Alanko-Lazarides.
She says that she was specifically chosen to take up her post in early 2024 to help improve the institution.
"We want to correct the shortcomings and work to eliminate them," said Alanko-Lazarides.
Alanko-Lazarides said she could not comment on investigations related to children.
However, she says the home is doing everything it can to keep children safe. She says she would like to see the law changed to allow more tools available to staff dealing with challenging behaviour from children.