A 22-year-old Hungarian man was remanded in custody by the Court in Horsens on Thursday, in a case involving the alleged unlawful detention and grooming of a 15-year-old Danish girl from Hedensted. He denies the accusations.
DR reports that the court remanded the man until September 15 after a hearing lasting nearly six hours. The presiding judge said the information presented gave reasonable grounds to suspect the man of the charges against him.
The judge also found specific reasons to believe he would obstruct the investigation. According to DR, the judge noted that the accused is a Hungarian citizen with no ties to Denmark, and that there was reason to believe he would evade prosecution if released.
The man is charged with prolonged deprivation of liberty for allegedly taking the 15-year-old girl out of Denmark to Hungary on August 4. Police further suspect that between January 25, 2026 and August 4, he exploited his age to build a relationship with the girl with the aim of committing a sexual offense.
Found in Hungary after two days
The girl was the subject of an international search and was found two days later in a small Hungarian town by local police officers. She was reunited with her family shortly afterward. TV 2 reported that the reunion took place on August 9, and that an earlier court hearing had led to a custody order in a deprivation-of-liberty case linked to the disappearance.
Politiken reported that the man was remanded in custody in Hungary on August 11. Per the same outlet, the allegation there was that he and an unidentified accomplice transported the girl from Denmark to Hungary on August 4 with the intent of sexual abuse. The grooming allegations in the Danish case cover the period from January 25 to August 4, 2026.
Thursday’s hearing was held behind closed doors because of the early stage of the investigation and out of consideration for the girl. As a result, the public has not learned what specifically forms the basis of the charge against the 22-year-old.
Extradited a day earlier
The immediate trigger for the hearing was the man’s extradition from Hungary. Sydøstjyllands Politi stated on August 19 that he had arrived at Copenhagen Airport at 12:50 that day and would be brought before the Court in Horsens the following day. He had been held in Hungary since August 11.
In an earlier statement, the police district said the man was arrested in Hungary on the basis of a Danish-issued European Arrest Warrant, after which Denmark requested his extradition.
Defense attorney Jørn Brandenhoff Schmidt said the 22-year-old was questioned by Danish police on Wednesday evening. That interview was used during the remand hearing, as the accused did not wish to make further statements.
According to Politiken, the man denies guilt in the case surrounding the girl’s disappearance from Hedensted.
