- The 24-year-old was released Wednesday after being arrested in February
- Charges against him were dropped after a 25-year-old was arrested on Monday
- Police arrested a 25-year-old male on Monday and charged him with the rape
Authorities have stood by their decision to arrest a man in relation to the alleged rape of a baby girl, even after they released him and charged a separate man for the crime.
The 24-year-old was released from police custody on Wednesday after being arrested in February, just days after the alleged incident in Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory.
Police arrested a 25-year-old male on Monday and charged him with the rape of the two-year-old before dropping charges against the 24-year-old, NT News reported.
Police have stood by their decision to arrest a man wrongly accused of allegedly raping a baby girl in February (Acting Assistant Commissioner Tony Fuller pictured)
Acting Assistant Commissioner Tony Fuller conceded the force may have to face a compensation claim from the wrongly accused individual.
He maintained the February arrest was made based on information available to police at the time of the alleged rape.
‘We stand by the original arrest. The arrest was made on the evidence that we had at the time and goes to show we don’t stop an investigation because a person is under arrest and we consider all the evidence,’ he said.
Mr Fulled said the matter was still being investigated, with the second male now due to appear in court on July 26.
The 24-year-old was released from police custody Wednesday after being arrested in February just days after the alleged incident in Tennant Creek (pictured), in the Northern Territory
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