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The man who confessed kidnapping Cleo Smith, 4, from her family’s camping in Western Australia, will find out his fate in December.
Terence Darrell Kelly, 37, is facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail after entering a guilty plea to one count of kidnapping a minor earlier this year.
Terence Kelly (pictured) who has pleaded guilty to abducting four-year-old Cleo Smith from her family’s West Australian campsite, will be sentenced in December.
Early in November of last year, Cleo was discovered alive, 18 days after she vanished from the isolated Blowholes campground.
On Friday, the case was brought back before the WA District Court with attorneys stating that sentence could now begin.
Kelly will appear before Chief Judge Julie Wager for a two-day sentence hearing on December 13 and 14. This was Kelly’s order from Registrar Jacquie Kubacz.
Kelly, who is in detention, was exempt from appearing at the hearing on Friday.
Her disappearance had sparked a major police investigation which eventually led detectives to a property in Carnarvon, just minutes from Cleo’s family home.
Police forced entry and found the little girl alone in a room.
The dramatic rescue was captured by an officer’s body-worn camera and subsequently made news headlines around the world.