Police say they had no choice but to shelve a child abuse charge against a Taranaki man because no witnesses would give evidence.
The case has been compared to that of the Kahui twins, after South Taranaki farmer Erryn Gregory White, 40, walked free from court last month.
Judge Allan Roberts ruled there were no witnesses and insufficient evidence to take the case to trial, reports the Taranaki Daily News.
The 14-month-old child, who had been in the care of several people, suffered a fractured skull. Medical experts did not believe the injury was accidental and a paediatrician concluded the injury was caused by extreme force.
It is understood the child has since recovered.
White's statement to police was that he had slipped while putting the baby boy into a cot, and the child fell 30 to 40 centimetres.
Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Coward, head of New Plymouth's CIB, said there was no intention to appeal against the judge's decision.
"Cases such as this can be problematic in that there are never any witnesses,” he says.
Former children's commissioner Ian Hassall has drawn comparisons with how people close to the Kahui twins closed ranks after the deaths of the babies.
"I think it's important to raise this [Taranaki case] as damning on the public, particularly since the Kahui twins, in that it is easy to get away with hurting and killing small children," says Dr Hassall.
"All you have to do is keep your mouth shut."
In 2006, the family of three-month-old twins Chris and Cru Kahui closed ranks shortly after they were killed, and would not co-operate with the police investigation.
NZN