Alleged abductor of four-year-old Australian Cleo Smith has case delayed

The high-profile case of a man charged with abducting a four-year-old girl from a remote Australian campsite was delayed Monday after his lawyer won an adjournment.

Cleo Smith disappeared from her family’s tent in Western Australia in October, sparking a major search operation that many feared would end in tragedy.

But the little girl was found 18 days later alone inside a locked house in the coastal town of Carnarvon, a short drive from where she disappeared.

ALLEGED ABDUCTOR CASE DELAYED 

Her accused abductor appeared in court on Monday via video link from prison, where he has been held for more than a month in maximum-security custody.

The 36-year-old was not asked to speak during the brief hearing but his lawyer’s request for a seven-week adjournment was granted.

GLOBAL ATTENTION ON AUSTRALIAN ABDUCTOR CASE 

The accused was remanded in custody until his next appearance via video link on 24 January 2022.

The case has attracted global attention, which reached fever pitch when Cleo Smith was discovered and reunited with her parents in early November.

READ: Four-year-old Australian girl found alive after 18-day hunt

CHARGED WITH FORCIBLY TAKING A CHILD 

Police swiftly detained the alleged abductor and he was remanded in custody after his first appearance in court last month. 

The next day the shackled accused was accompanied by armed riot squad guards on a charter flight from Carnarvon to the state’s capital of Perth, where he has been held in prison since.

The accused is alleged to have acted alone and police say he does not have a link to the family.

He has been charged with multiple offences including forcibly taking a child under 16.

© Agence France-Presse