János Vásárhelyi

János Vásárhelyi ran the Kossuth Zsuzsa children's home in Bicske from 2004 to 2016, where he exploited his position of authority to sexually abuse and assault at least ten boys in his care. In September 2019 he received a final eight-year prison sentence for sexual violence and coercion - far below the 22.5 years prosecutors had sought - because the court treated his award-recognized professional record as a mitigating factor. Those awards included Budapest's Bárczy István Prize (2015) and Hungary's Bronze Cross of Merit, civilian division (2016), the latter nomination backed by then-Human Resources Minister Zoltán Balog. The Bárczy Prize was revoked in 2019 once the case became public. His deputy, Endre Kónya, who helped cover up the abuse, received a 2023 presidential pardon from Katalin Novák that triggered the scandal leading to her resignation. Vásárhelyi was conditionally released from prison in April 2026 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.