Charge dropped against man who lifted girl by head

Police have dropped an ill-treatment charge against a Christchurch man caught on surveillance camera lifting a six-year-old girl by the head.

Police prosecutor Stewart Sluis told Christchurch District Court Judge Michael Crosbie at a status hearing today that they would not proceed with the charge against Terrence Matthew Rangianoa Biddle, 20, unemployed.

Police had sought advice relating to child abuse and while what happened was not wise, it would have been hard to prove ill-treatment.

Biddle faced a charge of ill-treating the girl in a manner likely to cause injury.

It followed the publication in the news media in February of a surveillance camera shot showing him lifting her by the head at a bus stop in suburban Shirley.

- NZPA