Finnish prosecutor demands prison sentence for Anneli Auer over child abuse convictions

Finland’s prosecutor general has appealed a district court ruling, demanding the Turku Court of Appeal impose a sentence on Anneli Auer for three counts of child abuse against her own children, Yle reports.

Prosecutor General Ari-Pekka Koivisto argued the Turku District Court erred in dismissing the charges, which stem from a 2013 conviction for acts including suffocating her daughter and beating her son. The Supreme Court had not overturned those earlier convictions, creating what Koivisto called a “contradiction” in the legal process.

“No new main hearing is needed,” Koivisto told Yle, asserting the appeals court could resolve the matter through written proceedings while still hearing Auer’s response. If successful, the move could reduce compensation Auer receives for wrongful imprisonment in unrelated sexual abuse cases where she was later acquitted.

Koivisto also challenged legal fees awarded to Auer’s defense team, calling portions of the €432,000 bill—including charges for Teams meetings and contacts with uncalled witnesses—”nonsense.” The state had been ordered to pay Auer’s lead attorney Markku Fredman €232,000, co-defendant Jens Ihle’s lawyer €136,000, and a children’s representative €60,000.

While declining to appeal Auer and Ihle’s acquittal on sexual abuse charges, Koivisto criticized the district court’s reasoning as “unbalanced” and its failure to address prosecutors’ arguments. He acknowledged the paradox of wrongful imprisonment but noted the Supreme Court found no procedural errors in the original 2012–2013 trials.