The man who abducted four-year-old Cleo Smith from her family's tent near Carnarvon in WA's north has pleaded guilty to obstructing police officers in the hours after his arrest.
Terence Darrell Kelly had been due to stand trial in the Perth Magistrates Court next week on a charge of assaulting a public officer, but on Monday, after the charge was downgraded, he admitted the offence.
Kelly, who appeared in court via video link from Casuarina Prison, was fined $1,000.
Kelly is facing a charge of child stealing over the abduction of Cleo, who was found when detectives went into his home more than two weeks after she vanished from her family's tent in October 2021.
The court was told about 9:15pm on November 4, 2021, Kelly was being escorted by three officers down a hallway in the detention area of the Carnarvon police station after having a cigarette, when he pushed past them and into another room.
There he picked up a police shield and turned towards one of the officers before using it to hit them on the hand.
The court heard the officers managed to get the shield off him and he was then put him in a police cell.
Magistrate Lynette Dias asked Kelly if he had any explanation for his actions, and he replied, "it was just a confusing time."
The abduction of Cleo garnered huge national interest, with one of the state's biggest search and rescue efforts deployed to the remote region where she disappeared.
Police officer Jon Munday who oversaw the search effort was just last awarded an Australian Police Medal as part of the Australia Day Honours.
"I got woken up by my previous superintendent Roger Beer … and he said, 'We've found Cleo'," Inspector Munday said.
"I didn't believe it and I actually rang him back about 10 minutes later and said, just to make sure I wasn't dreaming, did you say she's been found alive?"
"It was not a resolution I was expecting as the hours turned into days and days turned into weeks."
