Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Third NT arrest for sex assault of a minor
A Northern Territory man has been charged for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
May 18, 2021
A Northern Territory man who allegedly sexually assaulted a teenage girl has been charged, the third assault of a minor in less than a week.
The 14-year-old girl reported the incident to police on Sunday, saying she’d been attacked near Darwin by a man known to her, NT police said on Tuesday.
Officers arrested and charged the 20-year-old man with four counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 16 years.
It comes a day after a teenage boy was taken into custody over the alleged sexual assault of a seven-year-old girl in Tennant Creek.
The 16-year-old allegedly assaulted the girl, who was known to him, on Wednesday.
He was arrested late Sunday and is expected to be charged in the coming days.
Earlier, a 43-year-old man was arrested for alleged indecent dealings with a child in East Arnhem Land on Saturday.
He was charged with gross indecency with a child under 16 and appeared in Darwin Local Court on Monday.
Opposition spokesman Steve Edgington says NT children are being abused or neglected at a rate of three per day.
“According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare the number of Territory children per 1000 who suffered abuse or neglect in 2019-20 was almost triple the national average,” he said.