Locations
King Street, Dover, Kent, CT16 & George Street, Dover, Kent, CT17 & Sidney Street, Folkestone, Kent, CT19
Description
Lengthy prison sentences have been given to three sexual predators who repeatedly raped a 12-year-old girl after she was lured into a car in Dover.
Kevin Horvath and Ivan Turtak approached their victim in a supermarket car park on Sunday 11 August 2024 before driving her to various locations and subjecting her to horrific abuse for several days along with a third offender, Ernest Gunar.
All were convicted of multiple child sex offences including rape following a trial earlier this year and were sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday 12 September 2025.
Horvath, 26, of King Street, Dover, and Turtak, 38, of George Street, were both jailed for 17 years whilst Gunar, 27, of Sidney Street, Folkestone, was sentenced to 19 years.
All three men, who are Slovakian nationals, will also serve an additional three years on licence under the terms of extended sentences.
Abused
It was revealed during the offenders’ trial that the girl was plied with drugs and alcohol whilst being repeatedly sexually abused, having first been taken to Turtak’s flat in Dover before then being driven to a caravan owned by Gunar in Folkestone.
She was told she would be killed if she raised the alarm or tried to escape but was eventually able to leave the caravan whilst the men were asleep on Tuesday 13 August and later opened up to Kent Police officers about the ordeal she had been put through.
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 registration number of the vehicle was visible and traced to Horvath as the registered owner, who was arrested along with Turtak in the early hours of Thursday 15 August.
Gunar was then identified as the third offender and arrested three days later at Glasgow Airport in a failed attempt to escape justice.
All three were forensically linked to the offences whilst there was also an indecent image of the victim on Turtak’s mobile phone, which was taken inside his flat.
Courage
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. They will now be behind bars where they belong for a significant period of time, which I hope is of some comfort to the victim and her family as they attempt to rebuild their lives.
‘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.’