Child welfare official: sect and sale of child abuse videos may be behind bizarre case

The director of Children at Risk fund Marie Vodičková says she believes sect activities and the sale of video of abused children may be behind a child abuse case linked to Barbora Škrlová, a woman who attempted to pass herself off as a young teenager. Speaking on a TV debate programme, Ms Vodičková said there were indications that Ms Škrlová had been abused herself as a child. The diminutive 33-year-old came to national attention when it was discovered that the woman at the centre of an apparent child abuse ring had attempted to adopt her in the guise of a 13-year-old girl. Ms Škrlová later enrolled in a school in Norway pretending to be a 13-year-old boy; the truth came to light after the “boy” reported having been sexually abused. She is now undergoing psychiatric tests while on remand in Brno. The strange case has attracted a great deal of attention in the Czech Republic and internationally.