The mother of a 12-year-old girl who was abducted from an Asda parking lot and endured a horrifying 72-hour rape ordeal expressed that her daughter has undergone a significant transformation since the traumatic incident.
Following a trial, Kevin Horvath, 26, Ivan Turtak, 38, and Ernest Gunar, 27, were all sentenced to prison. The girl was enticed into their vehicle in an Asda parking area on August 11 in Dover, Kent, by Horvath and Turtak.
She was then given illicit substances such as crystal meth and amphetamine, and was repeatedly sexually assaulted by the duo, along with Gunar. Prosecutor Hannah Llewellyn-Waters informed the jury that the vulnerable girl had been “exploited, mistreated, and discarded like garbage.”
Canterbury Crown Court learned that the girl was abused at three different locations: the car where she was lured, Turtak’s apartment in Dover, and a squalid caravan in Folkestone. The ordeal only ended when the girl managed to escape through a window on August 13.
“She was treated as a mere object for their own pleasure, and the defendants’ actions were heartless, degrading, and entirely exploitative,” Ms. Llewellyn-Waters stated.
The devastated parents of the girl spoke out after the guilty verdict, revealing that their once confident and outgoing daughter has become a mere shadow of her former self. They detailed how she now rarely leaves the house without them, struggles with nightmares, and has become extremely withdrawn.
Despite the traumatic experience and the challenging process of providing evidence, the girl exhibited remarkable bravery. Her mother recounted how fearful and changed her daughter had become after the incident.
Commending her daughter for her courage in escaping the abductors, the mother highlighted the girl’s determination to flee despite threats on her life. Turtak and Hovarth were sentenced to 17 years in prison with an additional three years on extended license, while Gunar received a 19-year prison term with an additional three years on extended license.