A 47-year-old man has been charged with the murder and sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl in Australia’s Northern Territory, according to police, as the girl, identified only as Kumanjayi Little Baby for cultural reasons, was discovered on Thursday following several days of a major police search.

Riots and Charges

Jefferson Lewis was charged with her murder on Saturday night and is set to appear in a Darwin court on Tuesday; Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole announced the charges against Lewis on Sunday morning.

Dole expressed concern for Kumanjayi’s family and the wider community, stating, ‘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.’

Five people have been arrested over violent riots in Alice Springs sparked by the child’s death; Lewis was reportedly attacked in the central Australian town before being arrested on Thursday.

Violent Protests

Violent riots outside the Alice Springs hospital where he was being treated led police to move him to Darwin, approximately 1,500km (930 miles) north of the town. Video footage showed dozens of people gathering outside the hospital on Thursday night, some throwing projectiles, with police using tear gas.

Protesters were also seen attacking police vehicles, with at least one van appearing to be set ablaze, and Dole called the riots ‘disgusting’ and ‘abhorrent.’

Police released further footage showing crowds swarming a petrol station near the hospital and collecting items from the shelves before leaving hastily, and Dole told reporters, ‘What you will see in this footage is not people processing grief in relation to the death of Baby Kumanjayi. What you will see is criminal behaviour, plain and simple.’

Damage and Cultural Context

Property damage and stolen items from a petrol station and supermarket are estimated to cost more than A$180,000 ($130,000; £95,000), police said. Australia’s national broadcaster. The ABC. Reported that some in the crowd outside the hospital yelled that Lewis needed to face ‘payback’ and accused the police of protecting him.

‘Payback’ is a term for traditional punishment under Aboriginal customary law in Central Australia—usually carried out by elders to try and achieve harmony between Indigenous families and groups. Kumanjayi Little Baby disappeared last Saturday after she was put to bed at an Aboriginal town camp near Alice Springs just before midnight.