A kidnapper has admitted to abducting four-year-old Cleo Smith from an Australian outback campsite and imprisoning her for 18 days.
Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, pleaded guilty to a single charge of taking Cleo from her family's tent at the remote Blowholes campsite near Carnarvon, Western Australia last October.
Police found Cleo alone in a house in Carnarvon 18 days after she went missing. The search for her had captivated the world, and the police who found her wept with relief when she told them, 'My name is Cleo,' when they asked her identity.
Kelly admitted to the abduction during a brief court appearance in Carnarvon in a video link from a Perth prison, 900 kilometer (560 miles) to the south.
He faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison on a conviction of forcibly taking a child aged under 16. He will next appear in a Western Australian state District Court in Perth on March 20, where he will eventually be sentenced but ultimately avoid a criminal trial.
Kelly has not entered a plea to other criminal charges he faces, including assaulting a public officer the day after his arrest. Those charges have been adjourned to a later date.
Terence Darrell Kelly (right) has pleaded guilty to abducting four-year-old Cleo Smith (left) in a shock development
Kelly, 36, entered a guilty plea to a single charge of taking Cleo (pictured with her mother Ellie Smith) from her family's tent at the remote Blowholes campsite near Carnarvon last year
Kelly today appeared virtually before magistrate Ben White in Carnarvon, simply uttering 'guilty' when his lawyer said her client was ready to plea to the single charge.
The admission means what was expected to be a drawn-out legal process for Kelly will be considerably curtailed - despite months of preparation by detectives.
The 36-year-old was provided with a statement of alleged facts just before Christmas which is understood to have influenced his plea.
His lawyer Kate Turtley-Chappel said it was important her client plead guilty to the single kidnapping charge as soon as possible.
A sentence mention hearing will be held to determine when Kelly will be sentenced, with details of his activities in relation to the crime to be heard on this date.
Cleo was found alive and well in early November, 18 days after she went missing from the campsite and sparked over two weeks of international interest.
She had woken about 1.30am and asked for water but when her parents got up at 6am the little girl was gone with a land, air and sea search failing to find any trace.
Five days after the four-year-old went missing police announced they believed Cleo had been abducted and offered a $1million (£737,000) reward.
Cleo's mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon appeal for information during her disappearance. Cleo was found alive and well in early November, 18 days after she went missing from the campsite
The impact of the 18-day stint in Kelly's home on not only Cleo but her immediate family will be considered during his sentencing.
He will remain in custody inside a secure cell at Casuarina Prison in Perth and will return on Monday as one of the jail's most high-profile inmates.
Cleo was rescued from a locked property just minutes from her family home on Tonkin Street in the nearby town of Carnarvon, almost 500 miles (895km) north of Perth.
On November 3, police forced entry to the home and found the little girl alone in a room, physically unharmed and playing with toys.
Kelly was arrested on a nearby street around the same time. He is alleged to have acted alone with police stating he had no connection to Cleo's family.
He was shackled and accompanied by armed riot squad guards on a charter flight from
