A nine-year-old girl was kidnapped outside Harrods before being drugged and sexually assaulted in an ordeal described as “every parent’s worst nightmare”, a court has heard.
Robert Prussak was captured on CCTV leading the young child away from the luxury department store in central London after she became separated from her family, it is alleged.
The 57-year-old told the girl he would help her find her parents and two siblings, who were frantically searching for her, jurors were told.
Isleworth Crown Court heard, however, that Prussak then took the girl, who was on holiday with her family and does not speak English, back to his flat where he attempted to drug her with a glass of water laced with Benadryl.
The girl tried the drink, which she said tasted “strange and bitter” before declining to have any more, the court heard.
Prussak then went to a nearby park where he allegedly took the girl to a corner and placed his hand on her chest and belly.
He is then said to have pulled her trousers back before “looking inside” and kissing her on the cheeks and lips.
The girl, described as “quiet, shy” and “trusting”, told him to stop and asked him to take her to emergency services to be reunited with her parents, the court was told – having been missing for over three hours.
Accused ‘took advantage’
Prussak, who attended court dressed in a light blue T-shirt, jeans and glasses, denies six charges including kidnap and sexual assault.
Nneka Akudolu KC, prosecutingm, opened the trial on Monday by describing what happened as “every parent’s worst nightmare.”
She told the court the girl had been visiting London with her family from France on holiday in April.
“What took place on April 22 2024 is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Ms Akudolu said.
“Whilst enjoying a family day out in London, one moment your child is by your side, and the next they are gone.
“The Crown’s case is that this defendant took advantage in a situation where a nine-year-old girl had become separated from her family.
“He took her, before leading her away from the last place that they had seen her and back to his flat.
“There, he gave her a drink containing Benadryl to make her sleepy. That didn’t work, so thereafter he led her to a park and sexually assaulted her.”
The trial heard the girl’s family had spent the day of April 22 sightseeing in the capital.
They visited Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Parade before heading towards Harrods in Knightsbridge.
However, when the family walked into the department store, they realised one of the children was missing, Ms Akudolu said.
Girl spotted by firearms officer
Photographs of the young girl were shared with security staff at nearby museums, as well as with police officers and black cab drivers, as a frantic search began.
The girl was finally spotted by a firearms officer based outside the Israeli Embassy in Kensington more than three hours later, at about 5.30pm, with a man who produced a US identification card.
The man told police officers that he had found the girl outside Harrods and had been looking for police for hours.
However, the girl told French-speaking officers she had a headache and was “feeling unwell” and vomited before being taken to hospital, the court heard.
Prussak was swiftly arrested on suspicion of having kidnapped the girl.
When asked for his address, he gave it as the Chelsea Cloisters Hotel, on Sloane Avenue in Kensington.
Defendant denies six charges
The court heard a French-speaking police officer – Pc Cerveaux – arrived at the scene during the wait for an ambulance.
“She introduced herself to [the girl] and asked her what had happened,” Ms Akudolu continued. “[The girl] proceeded to tell the officer that she had been out with her family and got lost.
“She said that she was approached by a man who asked her a lot of questions, including if she had her parent’s telephone number. [The girl] then said that she was taken to his house, but she did not know where it was.
“Once there, she watched TV and was given a drink which she described as ‘bitter’. She didn’t like it.
“He offered her another drink which she declined but he told her that she should drink because the apartment was ‘humid’.”
A urine sample was taken from the girl, which was shown to contain the antihistamine and sedative diphenhydramine, which is sold under the brand name Benadryl, among others.
The defendant denies six charges of kidnapping, kidnapping with intent to commit a sexual offence, administering a substance with intent and three counts of sexual assault.
The trial, which is expected to last between five and six days, continues.
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