A 37-year-old man has been arrested and charged with child abuse offences after allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl at a Darwin residence multiple times on Saturday, NT Police said.

Police said the girl was known to the man, but provided few details.

Detectives arrested the man on Saturday evening after attending the residence, but it was unclear how they became aware of the alleged crimes.

It appears the victim told someone about the alleged offending.

“This is absolutely disgusting behaviour from this individual,” said Detective Superintendent Matt Akers. “I commend the brave young girl that spoke up, allowing us to quickly remove this offender from the community and put him before the courts.”

The man has been charged with two counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 16, one count of indecent act with a child under 16 and one count of grooming to engage in sexual activity with a child under 16.

He was scheduled to appear in Darwin Local Court on Tuesday.

“Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or NT Police on 131 444,” Supt Akers said.

“You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the ‘Report Abuse’ button at www.accce.gov.au/report.”