Locations
Basford Street, Sheffield, S9
Description
A 23-year-old man has been jailed after climbing through a bedroom window late at night and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl while she slept.
Bohuslav Horvath used a ladder to climb through the upstairs window of a house in Darnall, in Sheffield, and then crept into the next bedroom, where the young girl was sleeping.
When she woke up and found Horvath assaulting her, he fled to the other room and jumped out of the open window.
It was initially thought the 12-year-old had a bad nightmare, but his fingerprints were later discovered on the bedroom windowsill.
PC Fiona Busfield said: "This case is truly the stuff of nightmares and I would like to commend the young victim and her family for their bravery and dignity during this investigation.
"After Horvath fled, the girl went downstairs at around midnight to tell her mother, who was still up, what had happened. After searching the house and finding no sign of the offender, they concluded it must have been a terrible dream.
"However, when the young victim continued to show signs of distress the next day, a report was made to the police. On arrival, we found a ladder lying on the grass in the back garden and later confirmed this had been used to climb into the first floor of the house.
"Our SOCO (scenes of crime officer) carried out a number of enquiries and discovered two fingerprints, which we quickly matched to Horvath. He was promptly arrested. In interview, he admitted using the ladder to climb into the house but denied touching the young girl. We knew this was untrue and despite it being 'one word against another', the evidence on board ensured this dangerous predator had no choice but to plead guilty."
Horvath of Basford Street, Sheffield, was found guilty of one count of sexual assault by touching and burglary in relation to the attack on 15 May last year.
He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and has been subjected to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, a restraining order and will be on the sex offenders' register for life.