Police have charged a male youth after a 4-year-old boy was allegedly sexually assaulted in a remote indigenous community in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia.
The alleged incident is believed to have occurred on Sunday, March 25, behind the community’s Baptist Church in Ali Curung.
Authorities are also investigating whether the young victim was known to welfare officials prior to the incident or subject to child safety notifications, reported The Australian.
The territory’s chief minister, Michael Gunner, described the alleged assault as an “extremely disturbing incident.”
“Every child, no matter where they live, deserves to be in a safe environment,” Gunner said, reported the newspaper.
“Police are investigating and have sent Child Abuse Taskforce members into the community. Additional Territory Families staff are also in the remote town.
“This matter will also be referred to the children’s commissioner for investigation.”
Ken Davies, the head of Territory Families, said they were looking into the incident to determine what had happened.“I can’t say anything really except we’ve got a team on the ground working with police,” Davies told the news station.
“We have a Territory Families officer there and we’re there with police. We know the families fairly well.
“We’re trying to ascertain how serious it is. We’ll certainly be working closely with police,” he added.
NT’s opposition leader, Gary Higgins, said the Territory’s children are “some of the nation’s most vulnerable people” and their safety should be “at the core of all decision-making, irrespective of cultural beliefs,” reported The Australian.
“I call on the Territory government to implement whatever is necessary to ensure that horrendous incidents such as this never happen again,” he said.
“This is a complex set of problems that cannot be solved overnight, but what sort of society do we live in if we cannot commit to addressing this crisis?”
The police investigation is still ongoing. No further details have been provided.