Cleo Smith

Terence Kelly is sentenced to 13 years behind bars for kidnapping four-year-old Cleo Smith in 2021.

She was last seen by her mother when she woke in the middle of the night and asked for a glass of water. In an impact statement, Cleo's parents said their lives had been "ripped apart" by the "permanent" trauma of what Kelly had done. He turned up the radio to drown out the noise of Cleo pleading for her mother, the court was told.

The man who kidnapped four-year-old Cleo Smith and held her captive inside his home for 18 days has been ja...

I tried to tie her to the chair and that with her hands, feet and mouth. "You speak in your record of interview with police about having a number of children … "Being separated without any explanation is distressing for a four-year-old child. Chief Judge Julie Wager said Cleo spent most of her days alone, trapped in a bedroom after Kelly altered the door handle so the room locked from the outside." I wasn't planning to keep her forever," he told police shortly after Cleo was rescued from his house 18 days later. So, I thought, 'I won't tie her up any more with the sticky tape'. I tried to do that. "This shattered her family, and has been damaging and traumatising for the child." "She pleaded to go to her parents, she asked mainly for her mother," she said. She pleaded to go to her parents, she asked mainly for her mother," she said. After his arrest, Kelly told police he "roughed Cleo up a bit a few times" and became angry when Cleo got "bossy" asking for chocolate, but claimed he didn't want to hurt her and wanted to make sure she was "comfortable". "The young victim heard her name on the radio and she said they were saying her name."

Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, pleaded guilty to a charge of child stealing in January 2022, two months after his dramatic arrest and the rescue of four-year-old ...

She was a very bright, upbeat, sweet little girl. Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, pleaded guilty to a charge of child stealing in January 2022, two months after his dramatic arrest and the rescue of four-year-old Cleo from Kelly’s home in Carnarvon, about 900km north of Perth. The man who snatched Cleo Smith from a tent on a family camping trip is set to learn his fate 518 days after the girl was found alive.

Kelly, 37, abducted Cleo, 4, from the Quobba Blowholes campsite in remote Western Australia as she slept beside her parents and baby sister in 2021.

“That was such a beautiful moment just to see her as the old Cleo, but you could still see, for us ... [has confessed to the kidnapping](https://www.watoday.com.au/national/cleo-smith-s-accused-abductor-terence-kelly-to-front-carnarvon-court-20220124-p59qm8.html) and is facing decades behind bars. [$2 million deal](https://www.watoday.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/nine-pays-almost-2-million-for-interview-with-cleo-smith-s-family-20220120-p59q0q.html) with the Nine Network, the owner of this masthead, to [share their story](https://www.watoday.com.au/national/cleo-s-happy-bubbly-sad-and-angry-family-reveals-new-details-of-her-disappearance-20220204-p59tzv.html). [room full of dolls](https://www.watoday.com.au/national/cleo-smith-s-alleged-abductor-had-room-full-of-dolls-20211103-p595ny.html) inside the house where Cleo was rescued. “We’ve got her. Smith said the family planned to move to a new town following the ordeal. [emerged about Kelly’s life](https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/audio-files-reveal-difficult-upbringing-of-cleo-smith-s-alleged-abductor-terence-kelly-20211108-p596y8.html), with his sentencing hearing expected to reveal more details about his upbringing and motive for taking Cleo. The four-year-old’s hair had been cut and coloured pink, but her mother Ellie Smith later said Cleo was happy and dancing in the family backyard just hours after her rescue. We’ve got her,” one of the detectives said before scooping her into his arms and taking her out of the house. [storm Kelly’s home at midnight](https://www.watoday.com.au/national/cleo-found-awake-playing-with-toys-when-police-stormed-house-20211104-p5961u.html) on November 3. Nearly three weeks into the search, CCTV footage of a car entering Carnarvon on the night of the abduction and mobile phone data led detectives to The man who abducted four-year-old Cleo Smith from her family’s tent and held her captive for 18 days will learn his fate on Wednesday when he is sentenced in the Perth District Court for kidnapping.

Terence Kelly is sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison for kidnapping four-year-old Cleo Smith near Carnarvon in Western Australia's outback and ...

"The family spoke about their desperation, shock, and fear to the community via media at the time, so a little of their pain was known to others. "I couldn't ask those police officers to go home because they didn't want to for 18 days … Let them get back to the normal life. "Sadly, in Western Australia, many Aboriginal people have suffered the adverse impacts of colonisation. However, the fear and distress caused to them over those 18 days was immeasurable." "Hopefully, ... [and] 18 days is a very, very, very long time indeed." When the couple woke the next morning, they discovered Cleo was missing, along with her sleeping bag. The court heard Kelly told police he was not planning to keep Cleo forever and that he had been "feeling guilty" about what he had done every day. "We have to have a lot of empathy and compassion for the family. Kelly later told police he had tried to tie up Cleo first with sticky tape, but that did not work so he tried to tie her to a chair, but he said "she was a bit of a fighter". The court heard Cleo heard her name mentioned on the radio and said to Kelly: "They're saying my name".

The Carnarvon loner became one of Australia's most infamous kidnappers after holding the four-year-old captive in his home for 18 days.

We want to respect the dignity and the privacy of the family,” he told ABC Radio. I tried to tie her to the chair and that with her hands, feet and mouth. The young victim heard her name on the radio and she said they were saying her name.” For those 18 days, they just wanted to stay at work, and they wanted to find Cleo. I wasn’t planning to keep her forever,” he told police shortly after Cleo was rescued from his house 18 days later. “Being separated without any explanation is distressing for a four-year-old child.

Disturbing details about Cleo Smith's time spent held captive by a stranger who snatched her from a tent while on a family camping trip have been revealed.

Bropho, 40, was found unresponsive in his cell on the morning of March 9. The maximum sentence available to Judge Wager was 20 years. “No child in Western Australia … Sometimes Cleo would hear her own name on the radio, exclaiming: “They’re saying my name!” Kelly changed her clothes and played with the girl, although he also became angry with her and “smacked her a little bit”, according to one of his two four-hour police interviews. It was revealed in court that Kelly had been under the influence of meth on the night he snatched Cleo, in the early hours of October 16, 2021.

Terence Darrell Kelly will spend at least 11-and-a-half years behind bars over the terrifying abduction of four-year-old Cleo Smith from her family's tent ...

In the world of a four-year-old, 18 days is a very, very long time indeed." of feeling completely empty and broken. "I wasn't planning to keep her forever, you know. They described being too fearful to sleep ... The judge said Cleo had pleaded to be returned to her parents and Kelly, who was aware of the desperate search for Cleo, had used a loud radio to drown out her pleas. In the District Court of Western Australia, Chief Judge Julie Wager sentenced Kelly to 13 years and six months imprisonment, describing the fear, distress and trauma caused to Cleo and her parents as "immeasurable".

Cleo Smith's mother says some anger about what Terence Kelly did to her daughter will always remain, but the family is happy he has been sentenced.

We want to respect the dignity and the privacy of the family,” he told ABC Radio. I tried to tie her to the chair and that with her hands, feet and mouth. For those 18 days, they just wanted to stay at work, and they wanted to find Cleo. The young victim heard her name on the radio and she said they were saying her name.” Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Owen, in summarising the state’s case, did not reveal how police caught Kelly. “Being separated without any explanation is distressing for a four-year-old child. I wasn’t planning to keep her forever,” he told police shortly after Cleo was rescued from his house 18 days later. “I know many officers feel that way, we couldn’t get officers to go home. He quietly bundled her and her sleeping bag into the front seat of his car and drove on dirt tracks for the 75-kilometre journey back to his house in Carnarvon. So, I thought, ‘I won’t tie her up any more with the sticky tape’. I tried to do that. After his arrest, Kelly told police he “roughed Cleo up a bit a few times” and became angry when Cleo got “bossy” asking for chocolate.

The very first minute must have been terrifying for Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon, when they woke up to find their four-year-old daughter Cleo Smith had ...

It was a painful moment for the family, and for those who had spent day after day in the elements looking for Cleo, including many locals who had close personal ties to the family. That house was just minutes from Cleo's family home in Carnarvon, and the girl was reunited with her parents moments later, on the way to the local hospital to be assessed. they could be anywhere." The police appeal for roadside CCTV footage and dashcam recordings from the weekend of Cleo's disappearance was expanded to capture a 1,000-kilometre radius from the Blowholes campsite. By day six police were all but certain they were dealing with a kidnapping and they moved quickly to make sure the case was at front of mind for people throughout the entire country. Police were at pains to stress that the couple were not suspects and were cooperating in every way. The message from police was that it was looking more and more likely that Cleo had been abducted. Police across the entire state were put on notice to look out for any sign of the four-year-old, and the missing person alert was expanded nationwide. And the zippered opening of the tent was wide open to the outside world. Now with a family of their own, the young parents were excited to carry on traditions and had bought a new tent for the occasion. Camping was a favourite pastime of the small family, and it was to be their first time since little Isla was born. The man, who was a stranger to Cleo and her family, ultimately pled guilty to child stealing and was sentenced for that crime by the Chief Judge of WA's District Court Julie Wager this morning.

Ellie Smith has broken her silence, expressing her enduring anger at kidnapper Terence Kelly and relief that he will spend more than a decade behind bars ...

A close-up shot of Terence Kelly being escorted onto a plane. Terence Darrell Kelly was sentenced to 13 years and six months in jail for abducting Cleo. (Getty ...

Terence Kelly, 37, pleaded guilty to forcibly taking a child under 16 in Perth District Court last year. Cleo was missing for 18 days, sparking a major police ...

Terence Kelly told police that the young girl cried often and that he had tried unsuccessfully to tape her mouth shut with sticky tape.

Terence Darrell Kelly, 37, has been jailed for more than 11 years after pleading guilty to the abduction of four-year-old Cleo from her family's tent at a ...

Residents in the coastal town are reaching for closure and moving ahead from the kidnap case that gripped the world.

Terence Kelly told police that the young girl cried often and that he had tried unsuccessfully to tape her mouth shut with sticky tape.