Finnish child protection officials fined for death of 8-year-old girl

Two Finnish social workers were sentenced on Friday for their negligence which led to the killing of an 8-year old girl by her father and stepmother in 2012.

Both the parents had been given life sentences earlier. The girl had been a recipient of social services and the court deemed the social workers should have removed the child from home but had not done so.

The sentence for the social workers was at the level of fines. Prosecution had demanded imprisonment, local media said.

Nine other medical and social sector employees were acquitted. The court said individual employees cannot be held responsible for a badly functioning system.

The incident got wide publicity in 2012 and then led to changes in public child protection services.

Municipalities are responsible for practical operation of child protection in Finland.