Czech Republic:Czech police are grappling with a bizarre case involving alleged child abuse, an obscure religious cult and a mysterious mistress of disguise, which has enthralled the public and baffled psychologists.
In the latest twist, Norwegian police discovered that a 13-year-old boy called Adam, whom they feared was being abused, was actually 33-year-old Barbora Skrlova, who was last seen in her native Czech Republic pretending to be a 13-year-old girl called Anna.
The diminutive Ms Skrlova has been flown home from Norway to answer questions about why she has been masquerading as young children and the activity of the religious sect established by her father near the southeastern Czech city of Brno.
The cult - an offshoot of the Grail Movement inspired by German mystic Oskar Ernst Bernhardt - came under suspicion when police raided the home of two members last May, and discovered a young boy tied up in a tiny, locked, windowless room.
He was taken into care with his brother and a girl called Anna, who subsequently fled the children's home, sparking a major search. Then came the revelation that Anna was actually Ms Skrlova, whom police believed was being "groomed" to become a kind of deity for the cult.
Czech police lost track of Ms Skrlova until last week, when Norwegian colleagues searching for a boy called Adam found him in the Arctic city of Tromso, where "he" admitted to being Barbora Skrlova. She had bound up her breasts and shaved her head to look like a young boy.
Ms Skrlova is now undergoing psychological evaluation before facing questions about the Grail cult and alleged child abuse by its members. Experts say she could be mentally ill, severely traumatised, or just desperate not to testify against friends and relatives.
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