A 47-year-old man has been charged with murder and two counts of sexual assault following the death of a five-year-old girl in Australia's Northern Territory, police announced Sunday.
The girl, identified by the pseudonym Kumanjayi Little Baby at the request of her family for cultural reasons, was found after several days of a major police search. Her body was discovered Thursday.
Jefferson Lewis was charged Saturday night and is scheduled to appear in a Darwin court on Tuesday. Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole confirmed the charges Sunday morning.
"This remains a deeply distressing matter and our thoughts are firmly with Kumanjayi's family, loved ones and the wider community that have been deeply impacted by these events," Dole said.
Lewis was reportedly attacked in the central Australian town before being arrested Thursday. Police later moved him to Darwin, roughly 1,500 kilometers north of Alice Springs, after violent riots broke out outside the hospital where he was being treated.
Video showed dozens of people gathering outside the hospital Thursday night, some throwing projectiles at police. Officers responded with tear gas. At least one police van appeared to be set ablaze, and crowds were filmed swarming a nearby petrol station. Five people have been arrested over the riots. Estimated property damage and stolen items from the petrol station and a supermarket exceeded A$180,000.
Dole called the riots "disgusting" and "abhorrent," and drew a sharp distinction between the violence and the community's grief. "What you will see in this footage is not people processing grief in relation to the death of Baby Kumanjayi," he said. "What you will see is criminal behaviour, plain and simple."
Kumanjayi's grandfather, Robin Granites, a senior Yapa elder, called for calm Friday. "This man has been caught, thanks to community action, and we must now let justice take its course while we take the time to mourn Kumanjayi Little Baby and support our family," he said in a statement.
Lewis is due before a Darwin court on Tuesday.