Mayors reject UNICEF report on child prostitution

Mayors of two Czech towns situated near the German border have joined the country's politicians in refuting a UNICEF claim that child prostitution is rampant in the border areas. The mayor of Cheb Vaclav Jakl told journalists that the problem of child prostitution in his region did not exceed the number of cases found elsewhere, not only in the Czech Republic but across Europe. Interior Minister Stanislav Gross has sharply denied the UNICEF claim, saying that investigators had found no evidence of child prostitution this month during the country's largest ever police raid on brothels. Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla told the CTK press agency that the UNICEF report was "unrealistic".