Terrence Darrell Kelly, 36, pleaded guilty to child theft charges in an Australian court on Monday. According to a BBC report, Kelly was charged with kidnapping four-year-old Cleo Smith and keeping her in their home for 18 days.
The disappearance of Cleo Smith attracted attention across Australia, and many citizens wished her a speedy return to her parents. On 3 November, Cleo Smith was found unwell and ‘under the circumstances we might have expected’, according to Western Australia Police Force officials. Cleo vanishes from her family’s tent at a campsite where they are vacationing at the Koba Blowholes Camping Ground. 16 October.
Terence Darrell Kelly has been remanded to custody until March, after which he will face proceedings in Perth District Court. It is expected that he will be sentenced at a later date.
Cleo’s disappearance led to an extensive search and rescue operation involving over 100 police officers in Macleod, Carnarvon and the surrounding areas. Police used reconnaissance planes, drones and rode on horseback to search 600 km of roadside trash to trace Cleo’s whereabouts.
He also probed the whereabouts of registered sex offenders in the area, which had around 20 such people, to get clues. Terrence Darrell Kelly was not listed among them.
The first revelation in this case came when they traced a mobile number from a phone tower near the camp site, when Cleo was allegedly abducted. Cleo’s mother said that her daughter was sleeping on a mattress next to her younger sister’s bunk. Investigators suspected that Cleo was kidnapped at around 01:30 and 06:00.
Before tracing the mobile number, the campers alerted the police about a car which was leaving the campsite at Cuoba blowholes at around 3 am and was later confirmed by another motorist. She was found six minutes away from her family home in Carnarvon. Police officers forcibly removed Kelly before arresting him. Kelly was also charged with assaulting a police officer.
According to Western Australia Police officials, Cleo was found unwell and “bubbly and laughing” while chewing on an icy pole, which she claimed was “clingy”.
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