A man who abducted a four-year-old girl and held her captive for 18 days in Western Australia has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison in a case that has gripped the country, reports RTE.
Terence Kelly, 37, who pleaded guilty, abducted a sleeping Cleo Smith from a remote campsite in the early hours of October 16, 2021.
He then took her to 75 km to his home, where he locked her in a bedroom, the court transcript showed.
Cleo was rescued on 3 November 2021 after an extensive police search involving ground and air crew, checkpoints and CCTV footage.
This matter was in news and headlines.
In sentencing, Judge Julie Wager noted Kelly’s troubled parenting, but said that in the opinion of psychiatric experts he was at high risk of re-offending.
According to a transcript of proceedings provided by the court in the state capital, Perth, “You pose a high risk of seriously psychologically harming any future victim in the event that you did reoffend,” reports RTE.
He will be eligible for parole between 11 years and six months.
A psychiatrist who consulted on the case said that Kelly suffered from a severe personality disorder as a result of childhood abandonment, which led him to create a “fantasy world” with many imaginary children from different women.
Kelly is a member of Australia’s Indigenous, or Aboriginal, community, reports RTE.
Aboriginal people rank below the national average on most socio-economic measures and experience disproportionately high rates of suicide, domestic violence and incarceration.
Their life expectancy is about eight years less than that of non-Indigenous people.
“Sadly, in Western Australia, many Aboriginal people have suffered the adverse impacts of colonisation,” Judge Wager said, reports RTE.
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