Man in court over dropping of child

The trial for a man accused of intentionally dropping a child onto concrete has begun in the Invercargill District Court.

Hayden Ian Key appeared before a jury and Judge Bernadette Farnan for the start of the trial on Monday.

Key is accused of assaulting a 1-year-old child by dropping them onto concrete on April 12, 2015, near Dipton.

Crown prosecutor Sarah McKenzie said Key had been drinking RTDs, tequila shots, and other shots at a birthday party on April 11.

He was returned back to a property where the child was staying about midnight, she said.

In the early hours of April 12, Key was holding the child and became involved in ’’a heated discussion’’ with others at the property, McKenzie said.

‘‘Key then became agitated, defensive, got upset ... all of a sudden Mr Key dropped [the child] onto the concrete pavers sprinted out the driveway down the road.’’

Fortunately, the baby wasn’t hurt, but cried, McKenzie said.

The Crown would call five witnesses during the trial, including two men who witnessed the child being dropped, she said.

Key’s lawyer, Simon Claver, called on the jury to take time to and and consider carefully what each witness said.

The allegation was something that could stay with a person for their whole life, he said.

‘‘Be sure in your minds the witness is credible, be sure in your minds the witness is telling the truth.’’

People could group together and say things for hundreds of reasons, but the majority was not always right, Claver said.

Two Crown witnesses were expected to give evidence yesterday, with the trial expected to continue today.