Cleo Smith: Terence Kelly jailed for 13 years for abducting 4-year-old girl

A antheral has been jailed for 13 years and six months for abducting a four-year-old miss from a distant Western Australia campsite.

Terence Kelly, 36, pleaded blameworthy past twelvemonth to taking Cleo Smith from her family's structure successful October 2021.

The kidnapping sparked a immense constabulary hunt earlier Cleo was recovered live 18 days aboriginal astatine Kelly's house, minutes from her ain home.

Kelly was arrested soon afterwards and admitted kid stealing.

Handing down the condemnation astatine Perth District Court, Chief Judge Julie Wager said the transgression displayed "the highest level of seriousness".

The tribunal heard however Kelly kept Cleo astatine his location for the full 18 days, successful a chamber with a doorway modified to beryllium lockable from the outside.

Cleo Smith had been staying with her household successful a structure astatine a campsite astir an hour's thrust northbound of her location town, Carnarvon, 900 kilometres (559 miles) northbound of Perth.

She was past seen by her parent erstwhile she woke successful the mediate of the nighttime and asked for a solid of water. The adjacent morning, her parent discovered Cleo and her sleeping container missing, and the structure doorway open.

More than 100 constabulary officers were progressive successful the investigation.

The breakthrough reportedly came erstwhile a mobile telephone fig was traced to a telephone operation adjacent the campsite astir the clip of Cleo's abduction.

This led officers to Kelly's locked location successful Carnarvon, wherever she was recovered wrong unsocial astatine 01.00 section time.

Video of the rescue showed the young miss identifying herself to officers and smiling.