Northern Territory gripped by rape crisis as two men are set to be released after raping young girls

The small Northern Territory town of Tenant Creek has been rocked by the actions of two vile rapists who are about to be released just months after being convicted of their horrific crimes.

Ezekial James, 28, who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl in a community near Tennant Creek in the Top End in 2017, causing her to become pregnant, is eligible for parole just four months after he pleaded guilty. of the dreadful crime.

In another close case, a teenager who raped a seven-year-old girl while on arson probation in May of last year will be released less than two months after his conviction.

Both cases have sparked outrage over the leniency granted to the rapists.

Two rapists who sexually assaulted girls could soon be free just months after being convicted of their horrific crimes (file image)

Rita Panahi of Sky News Australia, who spoke to the network’s Darwin bureau chief Matt Cunningham, who covered both crimes, conveyed her surprise.

“Frankly, if this was happening in Melbourne or Sydney, it would be front-page news,” he said.

He would be in charge of the news service for a week.

‘How can such horrible crimes see such lenient sentences?’ he asked Cunningham.

Panahi stated that there were difficulties in speaking out against these cases due to fear of being labeled ‘racist’.

‘How can we elevate these issues?’ She continued.

“We’ll talk about it on this show, we’ll talk about it on Sky News, but it seems a lot of people are terrified to bring it up because there may be a backlash.”

The couple referred to comments made online by Senator Jacinta Price, who suggested that “until there is an end to domestic and family violence, there will be no end to these kinds of problems.”

Both assaults took place at or near Tennant Creek (pictured) in the Northern Territory. One breach occurred in 2017 and the other in May of last year.

Rita Panahi of Sky News Australia broadcast her shock at the heinous crimes on her show

Ezekial James pleaded guilty to raping a 12-year-old girl when he was 23 in 2017.

He approached the girl near a soccer field at night and lured her back to her family’s residence, where he assaulted her.

The victim returned to her grandfather’s house after the traumatizing incident and later discovered that she was pregnant.

The girl gave birth at Alice Springs Hospital in August 2018 after being in an “extremely anxious” state.

Judge Barr described the girl’s situation as “horrible” and the birth as “very traumatic for a young adolescent who did not have the psychological resources to deal with such a stressful situation.”

James was detained by police in December 2021, four years after the 2017 rape, when DNA evidence linked him to the boy.

He was previously in prison for multiple crimes, including two cases of aggravated assault on a female and recklessly endangering life.

Judge Barr said it was unlikely that he would reoffend before his sentence was suspended.

Both James and the teenager were found guilty and sentenced for the attacks at the Northern Territory High Court (pictured)

In the other case, a 16-year-old boy groped a seven-year-old girl while she was watching television in a Top End home.

The teenager, who was on probation for arson, forced the girl into a room where he raped her.

Later, the Royal Flying Doctor Service took the girl to a clinic in Alice Springs for treatment.

She is currently having trouble sleeping, is too scared to go out, and wants to leave Tennant Creek.

The boy was arrested four days later and sent to a juvenile detention center.

He pleaded guilty to the assault and was sentenced in the Northern Territory High Court on 30 November.

The boy, now 18, will be released less than two months after his sentence.