Three Men Sentenced to Over 50 Years for Rape of 12-Year-Old Girl in Kent
Three men, Ernest Gunar, Kevin Horvath, and Ivan Turtak, were sentenced to a combined total of over 50 years’ imprisonment for the rape and sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in Kent. The court heard detailed accounts of the crimes, which occurred over two days in August 2024.
On 11 August 2024, Kevin Horvath, aged 26, and Ivan Turtak, aged 38, encountered the victim in a supermarket car park in Dover. The pair persuaded the girl to enter their vehicle, where they administered drugs, including crystal methamphetamine and amphetamine. The victim was subsequently subjected to rape and sexual acts by Horvath, Turtak, and Ernest Gunar, aged 27, at multiple locations, including a caravan owned by Gunar in Folkestone. The victim escaped her captors on 13 August 2024 after waking before them.
Following a trial in June 2025, the defendants were convicted of multiple charges. Gunar was found guilty of two counts of rape of a child under 13 and had previously admitted one count of rape. Horvath was convicted of sexual assault and had admitted three counts of rape of a child under 13 and one count of assault by penetration of a child under 13. Turtak was convicted of one count of rape and admitted to taking indecent photographs of a child.
During sentencing, Judge Sarah Counsell highlighted the defendants’ lack of remorse and deemed them sufficiently dangerous to warrant extended sentences. Gunar received 19 years’ imprisonment, while Horvath and Turtak each received 17 years. All three were also ordered to serve an additional three-year extended licence period. Concurrent sentences were imposed for additional counts of rape, sexual assault, and possession of indecent images.
The court heard that the victim continues to suffer significant psychological trauma, including nightmares and social withdrawal. In a statement relayed by Judge Counsell, the victim expressed, “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.”
The defendants claimed during the trial that the victim had told them she was 19 or 20 years old. Judge Counsell rejected this, stating, “She does not look anywhere near 19 or 20.”
The case was prosecuted with evidence provided by Kent Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, with images of the defendants and Gunar’s caravan submitted as exhibits.
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