Man charged with murder of Aboriginal girl, 5, which sparked riots in Australia

A man has been charged with murder and two counts of sexual assault following the death of a young Aboriginal girl in Australia.

Kumanjayi Little Baby, five, vanished from her bed in a camp in Alice Springs last Saturday night.

Her body was found a few miles south of the camp on Thursday.

Jefferson Lewis, 47, was arrested on the same day having not been seen since Saturday - and has now been charged.

Police revealed his was found on the girl's underwear when her body was discovered.

The girl's death had sparked riots among the indigenous community in Alice Springs who wanted him to face traditional justice, or "payback".

Vigilante groups were reported to have reached Lewis before police at the Charles Creek camp.

Some rioters then turned began looting local businesses, with police estimating they made off with at least $200,000 (£100,000) in stock.

Hundreds of people are believed to have taken part in the unrest, with dozens hurling rocks at the windows of a hospital where Lewis was being kept.

Eleven people have so far been arrested over the riots and looting.

Local police have since condemned the chaos as "abhorrent and disgusting".

After releasing footage of locals flooding into a service station on Thursday night, Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole said: "What you will see in this footage is not people processing grief in relation to the death of baby Kumanjayi.

"What you will see is not people trying to practise traditional law.

"What you will see is criminal behaviour, plain and simple.

"It's abhorrent, it's disgusting, and it will not be tolerated or accepted by the Northern Territory Police."

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Mr Dole then said the formal charges would be "deeply distressing" for the wider community.

"This remains a deeply distressing matter, and our thoughts are firmly with Kumanjayi's family, loved ones, and the wider community that have been deeply impacted by these events," he said.

"I would ask that the community respect the judicial process, and I would also ask that the community continue to respect the family, as they continue to process their grief and sorrow.

"This matter is now before the courts, and as a result, it would be inappropriate for the police to provide further comment, or discuss in detail the events."

Lewis had to be airlifted away from the hospital and was taken to Darwin to try to cool the local unrest.

Local MP Robyn Lambley said the hospital had become a "site of carnage".

"There are bins on fire... A woman in labour apparently couldn't get into the hospital because of the violent scenes," Ms Lambley said.

Earlier, authorities had placed a day-long ban on takeaway alcohol, with more police bussed in from Darwin to prevent further escalation.

Alcohol restrictions are already enforced in Alice Springs on certain days during the week in an effort to reduce crime among the indigenous community.

Indigenous Australians make up around 3.8 per cent of Australia's population, but rank near the bottom in almost every economic and social metric and have disproportionately high rates of suicide and imprisonment.