A CESSNOCK man accused of shaking his five-month-old daughter, causing her critical injuries, will have an attempted murder charge dropped, Newcastle Local Court has heard.
The 26-year-old man, who cannot be named because it would identify his young daughter, did not appear during a brief mention of his matter on Wednesday.
The DPP said the charges against the man had been finalised, with prosecutors electing to proceed with a charge of causing grievous bodily harm to a person with intent (DV) and withdraw the charge of attempted murder.
Both charges carry a maximum of 25 years in jail.
The matter was adjourned until November for the parties to hold a case conference and negotiate a potential plea.
Police said they received reports on December 12 last year that a baby girl had been taken to Cessnock Hospital suffering critical injuries.
The girl was later taken to John Hunter Hospital for ongoing treatment.
The matter was referred to State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad detectives who commenced an investigation and after extensive inquiries arrested the 26-year-old man at a home at Cessnock on February 17 this year.
The DPP had been expected to finalise the charges against the man last month, but asked for an adjournment due to the complex nature of the investigation, which included "a significant amount of medical material".
"It involves a shaken infant," DPP lawyer Evie Lyte said at the time.
