A 47-year-old man, Jefferson Lewis, has been charged with murder and two counts of sexual assault following the death of a five-year-old girl in Australia's Northern Territory. The girl's body was found on Thursday after a major police search.

Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole announced the charges on Sunday, calling the case deeply distressing and urging the community to respect the judicial process.

The girl's mother, who remains unnamed, expressed her grief: "It is going to be so hard to live the rest of our lives without you." The girl's grandfather, Robin Granites, called for calm, stating, "What has happened this week is not our way. Our children are precious... This man has been caught, and we must now let justice take its course."

Violent riots erupted outside the Alice Springs hospital where Lewis was being treated. Dozens of protesters threw projectiles, attacked police vehicles, and set a van on fire. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Commissioner Dole condemned the riots as "disgusting" and "abhorrent," describing the actions as criminal behavior rather than grief processing. Five people have been arrested in connection with the unrest.

Property damage and theft from a petrol station and supermarket are estimated to cost over A$180,000 ($130,000).

The girl disappeared last Saturday after being put to bed near Alice Springs. Following the discovery of her body, her family gave her a pseudonym for the mourning period, a cultural practice of the Indigenous Warlpiri people to avoid disturbing the spirit of the deceased.

Source: www.bbc.com