Appeals court acquits teacher in child sexual abuse case

Yle reports that the Eastern Finland Court of Appeal has acquitted a teacher from the Kymenlaakso region of a child sexual abuse charge, overturning his conviction.

The Kymenlaakso District Court sentenced the middle-aged teacher to seven months of suspended imprisonment in late 2025 and ordered him to pay the victim 2,000 euros in compensation for suffering. It found that he had sexually abused a child between 2019 and 2022.

The Court of Appeal overturned the ruling and cleared the teacher of all penalties. The public part of its decision does not give the reasons. Court documents have been sealed because they contain highly sensitive information about private life.

The teacher had also faced four other charges of sexually abusing a child between 2018 and 2022. The district court dismissed those charges, and the Court of Appeal did not consider them because no one appealed that part of the ruling.

The municipality terminated the teacher’s employment after the district court issued its decision. It said he had seriously breached his obligations by endangering a pupil’s safe growth and development. The municipality also said it could not reasonably be expected to continue the employment relationship, even through a notice period, given that the conviction concerned child sexual abuse and incidents during working hours.

The Court of Appeal’s decision is not final. An application for leave to appeal can be made to the Supreme Court. Yle is not naming the teacher or the municipality to protect the victims.