Facebook livestream shows little girl and boy restrained with cable ties outside a garage door in Broome – before a man is arrested
Two children were tied up with cable ties as they cried out for their mother in a disturbing Facebook livestream.
The footage went live outside a house on Conkerberry Road near Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia, at around 2.15pm on Tuesday afternoon.
Outside a garage, a six-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy could be seen with their hands tied together.
Female relatives are heard telling the man that they are just “little children,” but the man refuses to release them.
An earlier photo on social media also showed a third child, 8, tied up with the other two.
The six-year-old girl and seven-year-old boy were bound with cable ties on the Broome property
The man who allegedly tied up the children (photo) has been arrested
Paramedics from St John Ambulance assessed the children, who have now been reunited with their families.
The livestream footage was deleted by the user after it was viewed 27,000 times and shared 1,800 times.
Western Australia Police confirmed a man has since been arrested and charged. Police were initially called to the property due to reports of a burglary.
“The Broome man was taken into custody, questioned about the matter and charged,” Western Australia Police said.
“It is alleged that the force used to restrain the children was disproportionate in the circumstances.”
The man was released on bail and will appear in court at a later date.
It is believed the man arrested at the home worked for a local air conditioning company and discovered the children swimming in a pool at the home.
The local business has since been subjected to online abuse and one-star Google ratings.
The children were held for about an hour
An earlier photo on Facebook showed a third child tied up (pictured)
Witness Leandra McKenzie said the children were in need.
“They were scared, they were crying, shaking and singing to their mother,” she said.
“It would have been more than an hour.” . . we shouted at him to tell them to release them. . . but he just wouldn’t give up.’
There is growing community concern about youth crime in the Kimberley.
Additional police officers from Western Australia have been deployed to the state’s north to help reduce youth crime as part of Operation Regional Shield.
A new youth detention center in the country is being touted as a better alternative to Perth’s Banksia Hill detention centre, but the project continues to be delayed.