KENT OFFENDERS SENTENCED IN CHILD RAPE CARAVAN CASE
Kevin Horvath, aged 26, was one of the three men convicted of raping and sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in a caravan in Kent.According to the court proceedings, Horvath, along with Ivan Turtak, 38, approached the victim in a Dover supermarket car park on August 11 last year and encouraged her to get into their car.
The girl was then taken to Turtak's flat where she was raped.
She was reportedly administered drugs, including crystal meth and amphetamine, during this time.
Subsequently, she was taken to a caravan in Folkestone where she was raped and sexually abused by both men and a third man, Ernest Gunar, 27.
Over the course of three days, she was held captive and too scared to attempt to escape whenever they went out in public.
Eventually, she managed to free herself on August 13.
Police were able to identify the suspects through CCTV footage showing the girl entering a silver Skoda Fabia in the supermarket car park, with the registration traced back to Horvath.
Horvath was detained along with Turtak on August 15, while Gunar was arrested at Glasgow Airport in an attempt to flee.
All three were convicted of multiple offences and on September 12, they received a combined sentence of 53 years in prison.
Turtak and Horvath each received 17-year sentences, whereas Gunar was sentenced to 19 years.
They are all Slovakian nationals and will serve an additional three years on licence under extended sentences.
During sentencing, Judge Counsell emphasized the severity of the case, stating, 'You recognized that she was young and might need help.
She should have been able to seek help from you but you drugged, groomed and repeatedly raped her.' A victim impact statement revealed the lasting trauma she endured, saying, 'Since this has happened I do not have any friends any more.
I do not go out as I worry something will happen to me again and I get worried around large groups of people.
I am just trying to not remember what has happened to me.
I want to feel normal again and be able to be around people again.
I keep having nightmares, nightmares about what they did to me.
Nightmares about them, nightmares about seeing them again.
I do not feel like the same girl any more, I just want to be her again.
I hope that I will be her again.' CPS representative Catherine Wear stated that this was a very rare case, highlighting the brutality and the systematic exploitation involved.
The three men were guilty of rape and other sexual offences after a jury reached a verdict on June 19 following more than 14 hours of deliberation.
Gunar faced two counts of raping a child under 13, Turtak was convicted of one count, and Horvath of sexual assault.
The case was marked as a rare and heinous example of child exploitation, demonstrating the relentless efforts of law enforcement and the CPS to achieve justice for the young victim.
