Robber who attacked girl, 12, to be deported again after sneaking back into UK

A convicted robber from Slovakia who attacked a 12-year-old girl in the street is set to be deported for a second time after sneaking back into the UK under a new name.

Patrik Gunar was jailed for three years in March 2018 after shocking CCTV showed the victim bravely try to fend off her attacker.

The 23-year-old, who eventually fled with her iPhone 6 on February 18 last year, was released from custody and then deported to Slovakia in December, Derbyshire Police said.

While in Slovakia, he changed his name to Patrik Krajnak and re-entered the UK earlier this month.

He was arrested in Derby on Thursday as a result of intelligence gathered by a dedicated foreign national offender team.

At the time of the robbery, police thanked a number of celebrities – including Piers Morgan, Nick Knowles, Michael Vaughan and Gaby Roslin – for retweeting their appeal relating to the attack in Cambridge Street, Derby.

Gunar, previously of Becher Street, Derby, pleaded guilty to robbery as the city’s crown court was shown footage of the girl struggling with him for around 25 seconds while she was on her way home from buying a cauliflower for her mother.

In an interview with police, he told officers “she was just a little girl” and that she was “easy prey”.

Gunar appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and was handed 18 weeks in prison for breaching his deportation order.

Police said he will now serve the remaining time left on his sentence for the original offence and will then be deported again.

Detective Sergeant Stuart Kershaw said: “I hope that today’s jailing of Patrik Gunar sends a message to all those who are deported from our county.

“When any offender is deported as a result of a crime in Derbyshire, checks are carried out by the team with their home country.

“If it is found they have, like in this case, been issued new documents in another name, then we will conduct the relevant checks as to whether they have re-entered the country.”

Mr Kershaw continued: “Officers found that Gunar had travelled from Slovakia to Luton earlier this month and, after further checks, he was arrested in Derby on July 25.

“After appearing at court and being handed a further 18 weeks, he will now also serve the remainder of his sentence.

“He will be once again deported and, should he think of trying to get back into the country again, we will be ready and waiting.”