A 32-year-old man charged over the alleged sexual assault of a young girl in a public toilet block at Blair Athol has been remanded in custody after a brief court appearance.
The man, whose identity is suppressed under state law, faced the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with three counts of indecent assault, two counts of rape and one count of false imprisonment.
He was arrested on Thursday afternoon after police dropped charges against a 29-year-old man they initially suspected of being the perpetrator.
Police said the 29-year-old man was unconditionally released when forensic evidence cleared him of direct involvement in the alleged attack.
Police have previously alleged the accused lured a 10-year-old girl from the playground at the Blair Athol Sports Community Club into a toilet block on April 3.
He made no application for bail during his court appearance and was remanded in custody to face court again in September.
'Incredible courage' of alleged victim
Police previously said the alleged assault was "very serious" and the girl had shown "incredible courage".
"Any sexual offending against a child is abhorrent. It's very, very serious," Chief Superintendent Mark Wieszyk said.
"The victim has displayed incredible courage during this investigation.
"The best way to describe her was very courageous in being able to provide the information we could act on."
The court appearance follows an intensive campaign by police to identify a suspect, with officers carrying out a doorknock in the area.
Senior Sergeant Graham Tomkins has previously said police would allege the man's offending was "at the highest end of sexual assault".
"Detectives have worked tirelessly on this case since it was reported," he said.
"This girl is remarkably brave … she has constantly amazed the senior detectives involved in the case.
"She gave a stoic account of what happened to her."
