Shocking abuse case begins in Brno court

A court in Brno has begun hearing a case of child abuse which has shocked the Czech Republic. Sickening details have been given of how six adults, including the mysterious Barbora Škrlová, seriously mistreated two boys in the town of Kuřim. The abuse came to light last year after a neighbour picked up a signal from a child minding video device in the flat of Klára Mauerová; it showed that one of her sons, aged seven, was being kept naked in appalling conditions in a cupboard.

In the wake of that discovery, it emerged that Ms Mauerová had tried to adopt 33-year-old Barbora Škrlová in the guise of a 12-year-old girl. The alleged abusers have been linked to a sect headed by Barbora Škrlová’s father; her brother is among the accused.

On Tuesday Klára Mauerová tearfully admitted to mistreating her children, saying she had been manipulated by her sister Kateřina and Barbora Škrlová into taking what she called a harsh approach to child-rearing.