A Southland man accused of hurting an 8-week-old baby in Invercargill has been found not guilty by a jury.
Tewai Hemopo (26) denied a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent at the outset of his trial before Justice Osborne in the High Court at Invercargill last week.
A jury returned the not guilty verdict yesterday after a short deliberation.
In his opening statement, Crown solicitor Riki Donnelly said jurors had to decide whether Hemopo had caused fractures to the baby’s legs on July 4, 2016.
Defence lawyer Sonia Vidal said her client did not cause the harm and that all evidence during the trial showed Hemopo always helped the baby’s mother to look after the baby and her other son.
‘‘Tewai was good with the kids.’’
She highlighted text message exchange between Hemopo and the baby’s mother, in which the woman admitted she was ‘‘not coping’’ with two babies.
Mrs Vidal told the jury it did not make sense to say Hemopo was the one who caused the baby harm.
‘‘The person who had difficulties with [the baby] was not the defendant.’’
In his closing statement, Mr Donnelly stressed medical evidence showed the baby had ‘‘so many broken bones’’ that it could not be accidental.
He said the defendant’s and the baby’s mother’s versions of the incident had a ‘‘clear conflict’’.
The jury’s verdict was unanimous.
