A 22-year-old Hungarian man denied guilt on Thursday at a custody hearing in Horsens. He is charged with long-term deprivation of liberty and grooming of a 15-year-old girl from Hedensted.
Avisen Danmark reports that the man was brought before the court in Horsens on Thursday, August 20, 2026, where the charges against him were read aloud. According to the charge sheet, he picked the girl up in Denmark and drove her to Hungary, keeping her deprived of her liberty for a prolonged period.
The second charge concerns Denmark’s grooming provision. Police believe he exploited his age to build a relationship with the 15-year-old, with the aim of subjecting her to a sexual offense. Grooming has had its own section in the Danish Penal Code, section 231, since July 1, 2023, with a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
Long-term deprivation of liberty falls under section 261, subsection 2, of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 years. Red Barnet’s SletDet advisory service assisted children, parents and professionals in 239 cases involving suspected grooming between January 2023 and June 2026, according to figures cited by Avisen Danmark.
Politiken reports that the man pleaded not guilty during the hearing. Per the same account, the grooming charge covers the period from January 25, 2026, to August 4, 2026, and the contact allegedly took place through social media. Politiken adds that the girl disappeared from Hedensted on August 4 and was found in Hungary two days later.
How the case reached the court in Horsens
Sydøstjyllands Politi has stated that the 15-year-old left her home in Hedensted on August 4, 2026, and was found alive in Hungary on August 6. As noted in the force’s statement, the search involved cooperation between Hungarian police, Europol and Danish police, and the girl has since returned to Denmark and been reunited with her family.
In a later update, Sydøstjyllands Politi said a man was arrested in Hungary on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued in Denmark, and that Danish authorities requested his extradition. BT reports that he was arrested at 12:50 on Wednesday after landing at Copenhagen Airport.
Ekstra Bladet, citing a press release from Sydøstjyllands Politi, confirmed ahead of the hearing that the man had been extradited to Denmark in the case concerning the Hedensted girl. According to the same report, police asked the court in Horsens to place him in pre-trial detention.
