Brno - After almost five months of hearings, the Brno Regional Court this morning handed jail terms of five to ten years to six persons convicted of maltreating boys Ondřej and Jakub in Kuřim, in the largest child abuse case ever uncovered by Czech authorities.

The boys' mother, Klára Mauerová, and her sister, Kateřina Mauerová, were sentenced to nine and 10 years, respectively. Barbora Škrlová, a 33-year-old woman adopted by the family under a false identity of a 13-year-old girl Anička, received five years. Jan Turek was handed five years and Hana Bašová and Jan Škrla got seven years each.

"The defendants were found guilty of deliberately harming ... the boys," said judge Pavel Göth. "Aiming to hurt them and break their personalities, they abused, hurt, humiliated and deprived the children physically and psychologically."

Unclear motive

The case has received much publicity in the media ever since police stormed the family's house in the spring 2007, acting on a tip from a neighbour, and found a naked boy tied-up in a closet.

The investigators later found out that the abuse had lasted for one year and had taken place in different parts of the Brno area.

After today's verdict, the judge said that the court had not been able not able to establish the motive for the convicts' actions. "Nevertheless, it is unquestionable that there was an ideological basis," he added.

Some media and experts have suggested that the convicts were brainwashed by a sect, but the authorities have not been able to prove this.