A man from Western Australia has been charged with aggravated assault after allegedly using cable ties to restrain three children.

According to authorities, the man detained a six-year-old girl and two boys aged seven and eight after discovering them swimming on an unoccupied property. Video footage circulating online appears to show two of the children tied up and visibly upset.

High-ranking state officials have expressed shock at the footage, while police have called for calm in the community.

The 45-year-old man contacted authorities on Monday to report the incident in Broome, located approximately 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) north of Perth. He claimed to have discovered the children in an unattended pool.

Upon arrival, police found two of the children physically restrained with cable ties, while the eldest boy had fled the scene. Subsequent widely-shared footage depicts two children, seemingly of Indigenous descent, in a driveway while bystanders urge a white man to release them.

Paramedics assessed the children at the scene before reuniting them with their families shortly thereafter, as per official reports.

Police emphasized that the level of force used to restrain the three children was disproportionate given their young age and vulnerability.

Jacqueline McGowan-Jones, the state's children's commissioner, expressed deep concern upon viewing the footage.

"It would appear these are very young and small children. They appear to be quite frightened in the circumstances. He is quite a large man. And they appear to be very nervous," Jacqueline McGowan-Jones told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday.

"They don't have the neurodevelopment to understand cause and effect and consequences and actions. And that is legally known," she added.

The man has been granted bail and is due to appear before the Broome Magistrates Court on 25 March.

According to recent government data, Indigenous Australians aged 10-17 are 29 times more likely than non‑Indigenous children to be in detention nationally. Ten is the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Western Australia.

Too bad