Toddler injury case transferred to Invercargill

A case against a Canterbury man over an incident that left a toddler with a brain injury has been transferred back to Southland where the inquiry began.

Police conducted a four month investigation into the injury to the two-year-old boy at Otahuti in rural Southland on May 31, 2009, before charging Aaron Kenneth Charles Howell.

The 21-year-old dairy worker lives at Coalgate, in rural Canterbury.

Since the first appearance in court in October, the case has been moving through the trial process.

But at a Christchurch District Court pre-trial call-over session to settle arrangements for jury trials, Howell's defence counsel Tony Garrett asked for the case to be transferred to Invercargill.

Judge Michael Crosbie granted the application and remanded the case to the Invercargill District Court on April 15.

Howell is on bail. He is charged with causing bodily harm to the boy with reckless disregard for his safety.

The boy was taken from Southland Hospital to Christchurch for an operation to relieve pressure on the brain, and then taken to Starship Hospital in Auckland where he spent five weeks.

After that, he was cared for by family members in the North Island, and late last year the police reported that he was progressing well but had a brain injury.

Howell's defence counsel has sought specialist paediatric reports while the case has been before the court in Christchurch.

- NZPA