Finnish prosecutors drop sexual abuse case against Anneli Auer and Jens Ihle

Finland’s prosecutor general will not appeal a district court ruling that clears Anneli Auer and Jens Ihle of all sexual abuse charges, ending a years-long legal battle, state broadcaster Yle reports.

The decision by Prosecutor General Ari-Pekka Koivisto means the April verdict from the District Court of Southwest Finland stands: Auer and Ihle are not guilty of the sexual offences they were accused of committing. However, prosecutors will challenge the court’s dismissal of certain assault convictions—previously upheld by the Supreme Court—as well as the state’s obligation to cover over €400,000 in legal fees, including roughly €136,000 awarded to Ihle’s defence attorney, Kaarle Gummerus.

Koivisto acknowledged that an appeals court would likely not convict on sexual abuse based on the prosecution’s evidence, which relied heavily on statements made by Auer’s children 15 years ago. Those accounts were later recanted; the children testified in recent years that no abuse had occurred. The district court had ruled their original statements unreliable, citing inconsistencies with other evidence and a lack of corroboration.

The case dates back to 2012, when Auer and Ihle were first convicted of severe sexual and physical abuse against Auer’s children, receiving prison sentences of 7.5 and 10 years, respectively. They served half their terms as first-time offenders before Finland’s Supreme Court overturned the sexual abuse convictions in 2024, prompting a retrial. New charges were filed last autumn, leading to the April acquittal.