Terence Kelly convicted of kidnapping Cleo Smith from WA campsite

The man who kidnapped four-year-old Cleo Smith from her family’s WA campsite in late 2021 will serve at least 11 years and six months behind bars.

Terence Kelly pleaded guilty to violently kidnapping a child under the age of 16 in Perth District Court last year.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Cleo Smith was found 18 days after her kidnapping.

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On Wednesday, Judge Julie Wager sentenced Kelly to 13 years and six months in prison, including 11 years and six months without parole.

The Carnarvon local admitted taking Cleo out of a tent at the remote Blowholes campsite on October 16, 2021.

Cleo had been camping there with her family when she was kidnapped.

The four-year-old girl woke up around 1.30am that morning and asked her mother Ellie for a sip of water.

Later that morning, when Ellie woke up around 6 a.m., the hatch to the tent was open and Cleo and her sleeping bag were missing.

Cleo’s disappearance sparked a major police investigation, with the WA government announcing a $1 million reward for information.

In the early morning of November 3, investigations led detectives to a property 75km south of the campsite in the town of Carnarvon, where they found Cleo alive – 18 days after she went missing.

The four-year-old was found alone in a room inside the locked house, just minutes from her own family’s home.

She was found physically unharmed, playing with toys.

Kelly was arrested on a nearby street around the same time.

There’s more to come…