Toijala wants to get back on its feet quickly after child abuse scandal

Conflicting rumours of identity of perpetrators continue to spread

print this

Despite the normal flow of traffic and people going about their business as before in the main street of the southern community of Toijala, in many residents' minds life will never be the same after the shocking child abuse suspicions uncovered over the weekend.
      "The town is in mourning, as the victims were such young girls", one of the locals summarises.
      But how to go about getting the community of some 8,000 residents quickly over the shock and the stir caused by the incident? That is a question feverishly being pondered by the local authorities.
      "The scandal is the topic of the day. There is a huge public brouhaha over this. Now, the main thing is to get things settled so that normal everyday life can be restored", says Pirjo Kukkonen, the head of social services for Toijala.
     
Many of the local residents seem to have a clear idea of the identity of the individual or individuals behind the molestations, even though the rumours - at least in part - are quite contradictory.
      "A kind of lynch-mob mentality has also surfaced", Mayor Pauli Ihamäki explains.
      Ihamäki suspects the topic will remain of interest until the perpetrator or perpetrators are possibly arrested and later convicted.
      Kukkonen, in turn, believes the biggest fuss will subside quicker than that, possibly after this week.
     
Mayor Ihamäki says it is clear that the presence of the police will be more evident in Toijala for some time.
      This may not be entirely true, however, as at least in the centre of Toijala hardly any police vehicles have been seen over the past few days.
      According to the Valkeakoski jurisdictional district chief of police Mikael Rekola, the child abuse case does not have a direct effect on the visibility of the police in the area.
     
Ihamäki feels the public stir has tarnished Toijala's reputation somewhat, but he also believes this will soon pass.
      "In the short term, this may have caused some families with children to reconsider whether to move to Toijala", Ihamäki suspects.
      The area's estate agents share the mayor's sentiments. The coming weeks will reveal if there is cause for worry in this respect.
     
The incident has had no effect on the schoolgoing of upper secondary students, explains upper secondary third-grader Irene Pinomäki. Pinomäki says a teacher-led discussion over the abuse case only took place in one psychology lesson.
      Amongst themselves, however, the students have discussed the case in detail, and have pored over newspaper reports.
      Upper secondary head master and pedagogical director of communal education Sinikka Ylimäki confirms that in the last few days teaching has continued almost normally both on the upper secondary and the comprehensive school levels.
      "In a way we're already back to normal."
     
It was reported on Wednesday that Tampere police intend to call for the remanding in custody of a man suspected of the abuse of two 14-15-year-old girls from Toijala in the course of this summer. The man was taken in for questioning on Monday.
      There has been some confusion over the number of girls believed to have been victims in the case, with Kukkonen and Ihamäki both still of the opinion that the actual number of victims is closer to ten.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  More arrests possible in Toijala child abuse case (21.9.2005)
  Toijala child abuse case less extensive than thought - one arrest made (20.9.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat