Three Slovakian men were sentenced to a total of 53 years in prison on Friday after being convicted of abducting, drugging and repeatedly raping a 12-year-old girl in a three-day ordeal in Kent.
Canterbury Crown Court imposed terms of 19 years on Ernest Gunar Junior, 27, and 17 years each on Kevin Horvath, 26, and Ivan Turtak, 38. The court ordered that each defendant serve a minimum of two-thirds of their sentence and imposed three-year extended licence periods. Judges also imposed sexual offences notification requirements after psychiatric and risk assessments concluded the men would continue to pose a risk to children.
Prosecutors said the girl was spotted in a supermarket car park in Dover on Aug. 11, 2024, and was lured into a Skoda driven by Horvath. She was taken to a flat in Dover belonging to Turtak, where she was raped, and then moved to Gunar’s caravan on Arthur Street in Folkestone. Over approximately 72 hours, the defendants plied the child with a mixture of drugs including crystal methamphetamine and amphetamine and subjected her to repeated sexual assaults, the court heard.
The girl escaped on Aug. 13 after waking before her captors and jumping from a window. Police found her in Dover later that day; she initially told officers she had walked to Folkestone and back because she was too traumatised to disclose the abuse. After being reunited with her parents she disclosed the full details, and later gave evidence at trial.
Detective Constable Linda Gavin, who interviewed the child after her rescue, told the court the girl was "extremely upset, frightened, reluctant to speak. She was just frightened — a frightened child." Prosecutor Hannah Llewellyn-Waters told jurors the victim had been "used, abused, and discarded like trash," and described the defendants’ conduct as "callous, degrading, and entirely exploitative."
Physical and forensic evidence presented at trial included the victim’s mobile phone, which was taken during the abduction and later recovered in Horvath’s car, and images taken by Turtak of the girl in a bathtub. DNA from the three defendants was found on the girl’s body, clothing and intimate areas, the court heard.
Turtak was convicted of rape of a child under 13 and had earlier pleaded guilty to taking indecent images of a child. Horvath had pleaded guilty before trial to three counts of rape of a child under 13 and one count of assault by penetration of a child under 13 and was convicted at trial of an additional charge of sexual assault of a child under 13. Gunar pleaded guilty to one count of rape of a child under 13 and was convicted of two further counts of rape of a child under 13.
In mitigation, defence counsel had contested aspects of the case, including claims about the girl’s age by one defendant, but the jury convicted all three on the principal charges.
The victim’s mother made a statement to the court and described the long-lasting impact on her daughter, saying the child suffered night terrors, would not sleep alone, and had dragged her mattress into her parents’ bedroom after being found. She said her daughter had told her she wanted to die and that she now rarely left the house without a parent. "She just wants her justice now. I am so proud of her. She's been incredible," the mother said.
Sentencing remarks noted the defendants had taken advantage of a vulnerable child and inflicted severe physical and psychological harm. The extended licence periods and notification requirements are intended to manage risk on release and protect the public, the court said.
The case has been referred for inclusion on the police and judicial safeguarding records, and the sentences reflect both the gravity of the offences and the need to prevent further harm. Police and prosecution officials said they would continue to work with the victim and her family to ensure support needs are met as the legal processes conclude.