A five-year-old boy was allegedly raped by three children in northern Australia earlier this month, police said.
The alleged incident occurred on a beach in the remote Queensland town of Napranum at about 7 p.m. on July 1, according to a spokesperson for Queensland Police.
The alleged offenders – boys between the ages of 10 and 13 – “will be dealt with under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act,” the police spokesperson said.
On Friday, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the incident was an “absolute tragedy.”
“Sadly, yes, we did investigate that,” Carroll told reporters. “It’s being dealt with, we’re working with the community. It shouldn’t happen and it’s tragic.”
Carroll added that police were working “with the victim, the families and the offending children.”
Napranum is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community that’s home to about 1,000 Indigenous people on the northwest coast of Cape York peninsula.
The town is about 800 kilometers (500 miles), or a 10-hour drive, from Cairns – the nearest major city.
According to ABC News, Napranum was long considered one of Queensland’s most disadvantaged communities, though economic opportunities have improved over the past decade.
In 2006, a 10-year-old girl was raped by three men and six boys in the town of Aurukun, about 190 kilometers (118 miles) from Napranum.
The case sparked outrage across Australia after the perpetrators were given suspended sentences. The judge in the case didn’t sentence the group to prison time in part because she said the girl “probably agreed to have sex with” them.
