A Queensland man who broke into a random home, abducted a sleeping three-year-old girl and kept her at his house for two days could walk free from jail in four months.

Eden James Kane, 50, pleaded guilty to child stealing after he plucked the girl in the middle of the night as she slept by a window in her lounge room in Childers in April 2014.

He was sentenced in Brisbane District Court today to four-and-a-half years in jail.

Eden James Kane. (Supplied)

"Clearly it would not only have been an extremely terrifying ordeal for that child, but also for the family associated with that child," Judge Nathan Jarro said.

Kane took the girl to his home across town, with her disappearance sparking a massive air and land search plus a state-wide child abduction alert.

She was found two days later at a showground across the road from her home after patrolling police heard her calling out: "Mummy".

There was no evidence Kane indecently assaulted the girl but they slept in the same bed, prosecutors said, with their time taken up by watching movies and eating chocolate.

While she would not tell police about her abduction because she "was told not to say anything to anyone", she confided with her mother she "had fun there", the court heard.

She was found with washed and brushed hair.

Kane was caught after his car broke down as he tried to flee town before confessing to police.

He will be eligible for parole on August 17, having already served a year behind bars.

But the young girl has suffered lasting impacts, including no longer feeling safe to sleep alone.

"You should obviously be thoroughly ashamed of your actions," Judge Jarro said.

"To think that you're entitled to go into someone's house and to abduct one of their children and to have that child over the course of two days is beyond comprehension."