Helsinki appeals court upholds acquittal in alleged rape case

The Helsinki Court of Appeal has upheld a district court ruling acquitting three men accused of raping a 17-year-old girl outside Malmi Hospital in October 2024.

The case involved three men who had sexual intercourse with the heavily intoxicated teenager in a bush near the hospital, where she had been taken due to her level of intoxication.

The district court dismissed the charges, stating the girl was not too intoxicated to form or express consent, and the men could reasonably assume she had agreed. The complainant appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, which confirmed the district court’s reasoning for dismissal.

The appeals court cited evidence, including surveillance footage, in concluding that the complainant’s intoxication did not prevent the formation or expression of consent.