Czech detectives uncover child prostitution in socially excluded locality, at least 12 victims, suspect is in custody
Detectives have uncovered an extensive case of child prostitution in the socially excluded locality of Předlice in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic. The investigation, underway since 2022, has led to the indictment of a 50-year-old man who allegedly paid underage girls fees for sexual contact.
According to police, there have been at least 12 victims, ranging in age from 10 to 17. The prosecutor has charged the suspect with 18 counts of felonies including sexual abuse.
If convicted, the man faces up to eight years in prison. Detectives informed journalists of the charges on 7 March 2025.
Detectives have been investigating information regarding child prostitution in the Předlice quarter since 2022. “We had many indications of this, but nobody would speak to us about it, the victims always denied it because they were benefiting financially from this activity,” detective Lucie Holečková said.
According to the police, the conditions for investigating the prostitution of these children were quite complicated because the victims and the witnesses are from a socially weak segment of society and do not trust police. Due to the demanding nature of the investigation, in 2024 a special police group was established for it called “AHMAD”, comprising 12 experienced detectives.
Police questioned approximately 60 persons in the course of the investigation, including victims and witnesses. On the basis of those testimonies, it was confirmed that the indicted man has been providing the girls various kinds of remuneration for sexual favors, from cigarettes and cookies to payments ranging from CZK 500 – CZK 30,000 [EUR 20 – EUR 1,200].
During their interrogations by the police, the girls revealed what they have been doing, and detectives also secured the testimonies of older prostitutes. “The man never denied seeing the girls and sometimes giving them something, but did not admit to criminal activities,” Holečková said.
According to police, as the repairman drove to his different clients, he contacted the girls on the street, offering them cigarettes or cookies, at first without making any requests of them. Later they sought him out themselves, and then they were remunerated for sexual services.
The man served them energy drinks in his garage and asked them to find him somebody younger than 10. “The girls said in their testimonies that they promised to do so, but never did it,” the detective said.
Police officers have documented the man’s criminal activity up until 2020; he has never been convicted of a crime previously. During the investigation, police in the city of Most started taking an interest in him.
According to detectives, the girls’ parents never knew of their activity. The man has not confessed to his crimes at all.
When police searched his garage, they found the kind of contraceptive drugs which are used after unprotected sexual intercourse, which they believe demonstrates the man was prepared to undertake such behavior. Police did not find that any of the girls had ever become pregnant.
Throughout the Czech Republic as a whole, police investigated 3,400 cases of morals offences last year. Most were in the Ústecký Region, at 501 such incidents.
Prague was in second place with 437 cases, and the Central Bohemian Region came in third, at 340 cases. The Ústecký Region has the highest number of socially excluded localities in the country and has long led when it comes to morals crimes.
There were 26 more such cases in that region last year than the year before. Police recorded most of them in the Most area (115), in the Teplice area (89), and in the Ústí nad Labem area (80).
According to the director of the Ústí Police, Jindřich Holeček, the most common type of sexual offense is sexual abuse. “Most cases happen between peers. We see 14-year-old girls getting pregnant quite often,” Holeček said.
