Tradesman, 55, accused of abduction and rape of eight-year-old girl

A TRADIE is accused of abducting and raping a young girl near Dubbo, in western NSW. The 55-year-old allegedly returned her “an hour later”.

A 55-year-old man was taken to Wellington police station and refused bail after appearing in court on Monday.

A TRADESMAN in his mid-50s kidnapped an eight-year-old girl in regional NSW before raping her and returning her an hour later to the spot he’d abducted her from, NSW Police say.

Detectives also allege he produced child abuse material in the short time he held the girl captive after taking her in Wellington, near Dubbo, on Saturday afternoon.

Police say the 55-year-old tradie was working at a house in Wellington when he persuaded the girl to get into his vehicle after midday.

The eight-year-old was reported missing and police immediately launched an investigation.

The accused appeared at Dubbo Local Court on Monday.

“The man allegedly sexually assaulted the girl before returning her an hour later to where she was taken from,” a police spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.

Officers on the scene - who were frantically searching for the girl — arrested the man.

He was taken to Wellington police station and charged with kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, sexual intercourse with a child, procuring a child to produce child abuse material and producing child abuse material. The local man appeared in Dubbo Local Court on Monday and was refused bail. He will reappear in the same court in mid-February.