The 16-year-old, who is also of indigenous heritage, allegedly assaulted the child in bushland near the Kimberley town of Halls Creek last Thursday.

According to the ABC, the incident was reported to police by a member of the public but the community was already under investigation for a number of child abuse incidents.

Detective Sergeant Tania McKenzie from Kununurra Police told the publication the incident wasn’t the first.

“Kununurra Detectives have recently done some different jobs in Halls Creek in relation to child abuse,” she said.

“We’re very thankful to the people that brought it to our attention and that we were able to make an arrest very quickly.”

Associate Professor Leah Bromfield, who works as the Deputy Director for the Australian Centre for Child Protection at the University of South Australia, said the incidents like the one in Halls Creek were not uncommon.

“When I hear a case like this I never lose my ability to be distressed by what happens to these children, it’s devastating when you hear these kind of cases but not shocking given the data,” she told ABC Radio.

While a spate of child abuse cases involving Aboriginal children have hit the news recently, Ms Bromfield said it wasn’t an Aboriginal problem.

“26 per cent of sex offences in this country have a child or young person as the alleged offender so it’s not just an Aboriginal problem, this is a problem for all of Australia,” she said.

Investigators looking into the community have described the incident as “disturbing”.

On Friday, the teenager was charged with two counts of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 13 and is expected to front Perth Children’s Court on May 11.

According to the ABC, neither the four-year-old or the teenager are under the care of the Department of Communities, Child Protection and Family Support.

West Australian Police told news.com.au it would not comment on the alleged incident any further.

“Unfortunately, as the matter is now before the court and in the judicial process, we are unable to comment further about this matter,” a spokeswoman for police said.

The West Australian incident comes a month after another outback town became the centre of a shameful child abuse crisis.

In April, investigators from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet descended on the remote Northern Territory town of Tennant Creek after a number of child abuse incidents came to light.

In February, a two-year-old girl had to be flown to Adelaide in a coma after a suspected severe sexual assault in the Northern Territory town.

At the time, NT Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said: “This town has a problem with sexual assault on children”

Acting Chief Minister Nicole Manison said the government had “failed that child”.

“It’s not good enough, we have to do more,” she said.

In March, a 17-year-old allegedly raped a four-year-old boy at the Aboriginal community of Ali Curung, less than 200km away from Tennant Creek.

And an investigation done by news.com.au last month also revealed police were still investigating an alleged sexual assault of a four-year-old girl by a teenage male relative that happened in January.

Last month the NT government released a five-point “action plan” to assist Tennant Creek.

The response includes the immediate deployment of additional welfare workers to assist families and trial after-hours services, as well as $1 million to improve violence prevention services, $150,000 for a prevention program and $450,000 for youth activities.