Dashcam footage used to locate man accused of kidnapping girl, 11

POLICE painstakingly stitched together dashcam and CCTV footage from around suburban Newcastle to home in on a man who allegedly abducted an 11-year-old girl in broad daylight and sexual assaulted her in bushland.

POLICE painstakingly stitched together dashcam and CCTV footage from around suburban Newcastle to home in on a man who allegedly abducted an 11-year-old girl in broad daylight and sexual assaulted her in bushland.

A 47-year-old man faced court yesterday after he allegedly snatched the girl at 9.15am last Tuesday and took her into remote bushland, where she was repeatedly sexually assaulted.

The girl was dumped at Kotara railway station at 2.15pm that same day. She walked to a relative’s house nearby where she reported the horrific crime.

The 47-year-old man arrested and charged with the kidnap and sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in Newcastle on Tuesday, 12 June. Picture: Facebook

The girl was abducted as she cut through Hudson Park on Terrance­ St in Adamstown Heights as she made her way to school. Superintendent Brett Greentree said Newcastle residents had made 200 calls to Crime Stoppers and volunteered CCTV from local homes and businesses in a bid to help police crack the case.

The breakthrough came on Friday night when police obtained dash cam footage from a bus.

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The man is arrested by police after more than 200 members of the public helped.

The man was arrested during a vehicle stop.

The accused attacker has no fixed address.

They stitched this together with other CCTV footage and the following day arrested a man during­ a police vehicle stop in Hamilton. Police seized the man’s red Holden Commodore, which is being forensically examined.

“The forensic examination of that vehicle will take a number of days to ensure that it is completed thoroughly and professionally and we are hopeful of obtaining more evidence along the way,” Supt Greentree said.

“It has been a tough week for the community of Newcastle … it sent shivers down the spine of every Novocastrian and affected not only the police but the community right across the Hunter.

“This brave little girl is certainly a hero and the courage she has displayed and the heroism of her family has ultimately led to this arrest.”

Police received more than 200 calls from the public. Picture: Monique Harmer

Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec said 10 officers from Sydney­ had travelled to Newcastle to assist local police with the investigation.

“It is remarkable, the strength of this young girl,” he said.

“They have some comfort, they slept better last night than they would have in previous nights, as many parents in this area would have done as well.”

An 11-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Picture: Monique Harmer

The man, who cannot be identified­ under court orders, was charged on Saturday night with kidnapping, six counts of aggravated sexual assault, and four counts of aggravated indecent assault­. During a brief mention at Newcastle Court yesterday, he did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.

Police yesterday said the man was unemployed and had lived a nomadic life in the Newcastle area. His will face court again on June 20.