Finnish court dismisses all sexual abuse charges against Anneli Auer and Jens Ihle

A district court in southwestern Finland has acquitted Anneli Auer and Jens Ihle of all sexual abuse charges, rejecting the prosecution’s case in a high-profile retrial.

According to a report by Finnish public broadcaster Yle, the Varsinais-Suomi District Court on Friday dismissed every charge brought against the two defendants. Prosecutor Leena Koivuniemi, speaking outside the court, called the verdict unexpected.

“This was not what we sought,” Koivuniemi told Yle. “We will need to carefully examine the judgment and its reasoning.” She declined to comment on whether the prosecution would appeal.

Auer and Ihle were originally convicted in 2013 by the Turku Court of Appeal for aggravated sexual abuse, receiving sentences of seven and a half years and ten years, respectively. They served their terms before Auer’s children revised their testimonies, leading Finland’s Supreme Court to overturn most of the convictions—a rare legal move in the country. The case was then ordered for retrial in the district court.

The prosecution had pushed for a guilty verdict in the retrial, but the court’s decision marks a complete dismissal of the charges.