After drugging and raping a 12-year-old girl, three men have been jailed for more than 50 years in total.Kevin Horvath, 26, and Ivan Turtak, 38, first saw the victim in a supermarket car park in Dover, Kent on August 11, 2024, and encouraged her to get into their vehicle.
They then continued to drug her with crystal methamphetamine and amphetamine before she was raped and subjected to sexual acts by them and a third man, Ernest Gunar, 27. She was told she would be killed if she raised the alarm or tried to escape. However, the girl managed to flee after waking up before their captors two days later, on August 13. The three men were imprisoned for the rape of a 12-year-old girl along with other sexual offences at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday.
One year on, the victim still has nightmares, cannot feel comfortable around large groups of people and does not have any friends, the judge told the court. Relaying her words, Judge Sarah Counsell said: “I don’t feel like the same girl anymore, I just want to be her again and I hope that I will be her again.”
Horvath and Turtak were each sentenced to 17 years in prison, while Gunar received 19 years. The three will serve an extended licence period of three years and were given concurrent sentences for other offences, including rape, sexual assault, and possession of indecent images.
The judge said that although the initial encounter with the girl seemed random, the three men quickly coordinated their actions, moving between multiple locations. The girl was first taken to Turtak’s flat in Dover before then being driven to a caravan owned by Gunar in Folkestone. House-to-house enquiries were immediately carried out, which led to the discovery of CCTV footage that showed the victim getting into a silver Skoda Fabia in the supermarket car park.
The men have reportedly shown little or no remorse and were assessed by the judge as dangerous enough to warrant extended sentences. During their trial, they tried to claim the girl had told them she was 19 or 20 and one of the defendants described the young victim as “sexually promiscuous”.
“She does not look anywhere near 19 or 20,” Judge Counsell said.
The men were found guilty of rape and other sexual offences at the court in June. Gunar was convicted of two counts of rape against a child under 13; Turtak was convicted of one count; and Horvath was convicted of sexual assault. Horvath had already admitted three counts of rape against a child under 13, and one charge of assault by penetration of a child under 13. Gunar, who is thought to be his cousin, had also admitted one charge of rape. Turtak initially denied rape but did admit taking indecent photos of a child.
Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Smith of Kent Police said: “Nobody should have to suffer sexual abuse like the victim in this case did and I would like to commend her for the strength and courage she displayed throughout the investigation and court process.
“Kevin Horvath, Ivan Turtak and Ernest Gunar are clearly three very dangerous offenders who thought nothing about picking a child up off the street and effectively keeping her prisoner in order to fulfil their own depraved sexual needs.
“Incidents of this nature are fortunately very rare in Kent and I am extremely proud of every officer and member of staff who worked so hard to identify the offenders and ultimately bring them to justice, so they can cause no further harm to innocent members of the public.”