A Sudanese refugee accused of abducting a little girl from a Melbourne school and punching her in the stomach during a terrifying ordeal has been refused bail.
The woman, 35, faced Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on Saturday after being charged with kidnapping the girl, 5, from her classroom at Fitzroy Primary School on Friday morning, shortly after the girl’s mother dropped her off.
The court heard the alleged abduction was a random attack, and the accused is not known to the girl or her family.
The accused, who lives in a social housing tower near the school, allegedly walked into the school and snatched the girl, before being seen in the reception area in an “agitated state”, Nine News reported.
She then left the school on foot, and is believed to have taken the girl to the housing tower before being spotted at the nearby park about 30 minutes later with a coat over the girl’s head. Local residents then called police and the woman was arrested without incident.
The child was taken to Royal Children’s Hospital for assessment after telling police she had been punched twice in the stomach. The girl and her mother have both been left extremely distressed by the alleged abduction.
The court also heard that the alleged kidnapper has severe mental health issues.
She was remanded in custody and will face court again in July.
#BREAKING: The 35-year-old woman accused of abducting a child from Fitzroy Primary school faced court just moments ago. @EmilyRice28 #9News
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— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) April 27, 2024
