Details of assault charges against the man accused of abducting Cleo Smith could finally be revealed three months after the little girl’s dramatic rescue.
Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, will appear in Carnarvon Magistrates Court by video link on Monday, accused of assaulting a public officer while in custody in a police cell a day after he was arrested in his Western Australia hometown.
The assault allegations first emerged in court last month, where he pleaded guilty to a single charge of child stealing.
Court records revealed at the time he had been hit with a separate assault charge.
Specific details about the alleged assault while in police custody were closely guarded by police but may finally be revealed in court on Monday.
Terence Darrell Kelly (pictured) will be back in court via videolink on Monday, accused of arresting a public officer while in police custody
His alleged attacked was in lock-up in Carnarvon on November 4, the day after four-year-old Cleo was found 18 days after she vanished from her family’s campsite.
Kelly had to be hospitalised twice during his brief stint at police custody in Carnarvon after self-harming himself.
He was later flown to Perth on a chartered flight with officers from the Justice Department’s special operations group.
Kelly will appear via video link from Hakea Prison on Monday, signalling a possible move from higher-security Casuarina Prison where he was previously held, The West Australian reported.
Cleo Smith (pictured with her parents after she was found) was abducted from her family campsite
Cleo was holidaying with her parents and baby sister on October 16 at the Blowholes campsite, about 80km north of Carnarvon, when she vanished from her tent.
She woke up about 1.30am and asked for water but when her parents got up at 6am the little girl was gone.
The extensive land, air and sea search that followed failed to find any trace of Cleo.
Five days after she went missing, police said they believed Cleo was abducted and offered a $1 million reward.
She was rescued from a property across town from her family home in Carnarvon.
Police forced entry to the home and found the little girl alone in a room, physically unharmed and playing with toys, where she told them ‘my name is Cleo’.
Cleo Smith (pictured in hospital after her dramatic rescue) was camping at the Blowholes campsite when she vanished from her family’s tent
Kelly was arrested on a nearby street less than an hour earlier. He is alleged to have acted alone and is yet to enter a plea to his charges.
Police said he had no connection to Cleo’s family.
Kelly pleaded guilty to a single charge of child stealing. His next court on that charge is March 25, where he could be given a sentencing date.
That’s when the court will hear full details of Kelly’s alleged crimes over the 18 days he held Cleo captive in his home.
Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, (pictured) is accused of assaulting a public officer while in custody in a police cell a day after he was arrested
