Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Zdenko Turtak: Slovakian rapist who savagely attacked teenage girl while high on drugs is jailed

Zdenko Turtak fled to his native country of Slovakia three weeks after the attack

Samuel Osborne
Tuesday 20 October 2015 16:25 BST
Zdenko Turtak left his victim was left with severe injuries after she was raped and beaten 18 times with the rock
Zdenko Turtak left his victim was left with severe injuries after she was raped and beaten 18 times with the rock

A man who raped an 18-year-old woman after dragging her from a bus stop and beating her with a stone has been jailed for 14 years.

Zdenko Turtak fled to his native country of Slovakia after a search was launched by West Yorkshire Police following the attack, a court heard.

He was traced after a DNA match in Europe and extradited back to the UK.

West Yorkshire Police handout photo of the rock used by Zdenko Turtak in the attack

His victim was left with severe injuries after she was dragged behind a hedge and hit 18 times with the rock.

It is reported that police believe Turtak may have been high on a glue-like substance when he attacked the woman.

Judge Peter Collier QC, said the attack would affect the victim for the rest of her life, The Telegraph reports.

"She believes it will affect her whole life," he said, "including her prospects of marriage.

"In those short eight minutes you destroyed her young life.

"All her youthful hopes and dreams ebbed away in those few minutes."

The court heard yesterday that Turtak grabbed the woman while she waited at a bus stop in Beeston, Leeds.

He carried her into a garden where he beat her with a stone he had in his pocket and then he raped her.

The attack was caught on CCTV and footage was also found of Turtak following other women in Leeds in the hours leading up to the offence.

The hunt for Turtak has raised questions about the value of law enforcement cooperation between European nations.

West Yorkshire Police handout image of Zdenko Turtak being led from a police van at Leeds' Elland Police Station after his arrest on 10 July 

Turtak had been living on-and-off in Leeds for about four years and regularly travelled from his home in Slovenia on the Bratislava to Bradford direct bus service.

But detectives said he left almost no trace of himself in the UK, as he worked for cash and had no bank accounts or official records.

His criminal record in Velka Ida, Slovakia, showed he had been arrested four times for burglary and served two sentences in youth custody. He had no record of sexual offences.

He was eventually arested after Interpol was alerted and a DNA match was flagged up in Slovakia.

Detective Superintendant Nick Wallen said the search for Turtak was one of West Yorkshire Police's most challenging investigations.

Detectives said it was "frustrating" there was no Europe-wide DNA database.

Turtak was given an extended sentence of 20 years, with a custodial sentence of 14 years and an extension peroid of six years.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in