A man in Australia abducted a 4-year old girl while she was camping with her family in the fall of 2021. The girl, Cleo Smith, was held captive for 18 days before an extensive search effort led to her rescue, per MEAWW The man, 37-year old Terence Kelly, pleaded guilty to the crime in 2022.
On Wednesday, Kelly was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in prison, according to the Daily Mail. He won’t be eligible for parole until May 2032. New details about the case were also revealed in court at the time of Kelly’s sentencing.
The girl was abducted while she was camping with her family.
Kelly abducted Cleo Smith when she was camping with her parents at a remote site north of Perth, at Blowholes campsite, near Carnarvon, per MEAWW.
Cleo was sleeping in a tent with her parents, Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon, and baby sister, when Kelly took her from the tent without waking up her parents, the Daily Mail reported.
Cleo’s parents woke up to her missing. WA district court’s chief judge, Julie Wager, said, “They didn’t know what happened to her or if she would ever return,” reported the Daily Mail. They stayed at the campsite, waiting and hoping their daughter would be found.
Kelly kept her locked up for 18 days.
He took Cleo to his home in Carnarvon, where he kept her locked in a room, frequently leaving her there alone while he ran errands or saw people, according to MEAWW.
Cleo reportedly kept asking to be taken back to her parents, so Kelly blared the radio loudly, but then she heard her name on the radio. “When the young victim heard her name on the radio, she said, ‘They’re saying my name,’” Wager said, according to the Daily Mail.
Kelly cut the girl’s hair and dyed it pink. According to Wager, it was revealed that he was interested in “Facebook sites that featured fantasy children” as well as having an interest in dolls, MEAWW reported.
The man who abducted her was said to have a 'complex personality disorder.'
During a police interview, Kelly said, “I wasn’t planning to keep her forever, you know. I was getting guilty every day and it was just more weight on my shoulders,” MEAWW reported. He admitted to authorities that he “injected meth” when he abducted Cleo at the campsite.
The judge reportedly noted that Kelly had a “complex personality” and “developmental dysfunction,” according to the Daily Mail.
A massive search effort led to Cleo's rescue.
One hundred police officers assembled in Taskforce Rodia to help find Cleo alongside the Australian government offering a $1 million reward to help locate Cleo, per the Daily Mail.
“Eighteen days without contact or explanation, and with hours totally on her own and no access to the outside world would have been very traumatic,” Wager said. “In the world of a 4-year-old, one day is a very long time. In the world of a 4-year-old, 18 days is a very, very long time indeed.”
After Cleo returned home, her parents revealed that she needed lights on and her door open to be able to sleep and would wake up screaming with nightmares, the Daily Mail reported. Her parents also shared that they would not be able to return to their family’s favorite campsite after what happened.
