Tragedy as baby boy dies in the troubled outback town of Tennant Creek just a few doors down from where a girl, two, was raped
- Police found the baby unresponsive when they were called on Tuesday morning
- He was then rushed to Tennant Creek hospital where he was pronounced dead
- The baby was found just a few doors down from where a toddler was raped
- A two-year-old girl was raped by a 25-year-old man in the town in February 2018
A baby boy has died in an isolated Northern Territory town, just a few doors away from where a two-year-old girl was raped.
Police found the infant unresponsive after being called to a public housing property on Haddock Street in Tennant Creek at 9:17am on Tuesday,
‘Paramedics transported the child to the Tennant Creek Hospital. He was pronounced deceased a short time later,’ a police spokesman said.
‘Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of the child is underway.’
Officers reportedly found the baby boy just a few doors away from where a two-year-old girl was raped by a 25-year-old man in 2018.
Stuart Street, the main strip of isolated NT town Tennant Creek. A baby boy has died in the town after police found him unresponsive at a public housing property on Tuesday morning
Doctors reportedly tried to resuscitate the boy but were unsuccessful, citing cardiac arrest or respiratory failure as possible causes of death, according to The Australian.
Investigators blocked off the property with police tape until late in the day, according to locals.
The deceased baby boy is survived by his mother, father and older sibling aged roughly two or three.
Both parents were reportedly heavy drinkers, with the mother believed to be part of a large Tennant Creek family while the father is from Elliot, which is 250km north.
Tennant Creek is far away from major urban centres Darwin and Alice Springs, and has suffered social problems such as substance abuse, crime and sexual predation of children
NT Government child protection agency Territories Families is aware of the death.
‘Territory Families’ thoughts are with the baby’s family at this difficult time,’ a spokeswoman said.
‘Territory Families will work with and assist Police as required while they investigate this matter.
‘As this case is currently the subject of a Police investigation, no further comment can be made.’
The baby boy was found unresponsive just a few doors down from where a man raped a two-year-old girl while her mother was sleeping on February 15, 2018.
The boy was rushed to Tennant Creek Hospital (pictured). Doctors reportedly tried to resuscitate the boy but were unsuccessful, citing cardiac arrest or respiratory failure as possible causes of death
He infected the child with the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea and she suffered severe psychological damage.
News of the rape shocked Australia when it happened, prompting then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to visit Tennant Creek.
The rapist, now 27, pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and was finally jailed for 13 years in March.
Tennant Creek is far away from major urban centres Darwin and Alice Springs, and has suffered social problems such as substance abuse, crime and sexual predation of children in the past.
The baby boy was found unresponsive just a few doors down from where a man raped a two-year-old girl while her mother was sleeping on February 15, 2018 (stock image)