Man who harmed daughter up for parole

JOELLE DALLY | 19th May 2010

A Christchurch man jailed for shaking his baby is up for parole next week.

And if Christopher Dean Matthews is released, he may be able to seek access to the child, as well as his new son, who was born last year.

Matthews, 32, has served nearly a third of a two year, nine month jail sentence for causing grievous bodily harm with reckless disregard for the safety, and one charge of assault on his three-month-old daughter, Caitlyn, in 2005.

She suffered severe brain damage and is now cared for by Matthews' father and stepmother, Bevan and Kay Matthews.

Child Youth and Family Services will be involved in determining Matthews' access to his children if the parole board decides to release him next week.

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But Matthews will be unable to live with the mother of his now five-month-old son.

The mother of the boy said yesterday that she had ended her relationship with Matthews. She declined to comment further.

The couple met in 2008 - after Matthews had been charged and his first trial was declared a mistrial.

She had earlier said she trusted Matthews would be a good father, and had taken the child, born in November last year, to see him in prison.

Head of the Christchurch police child abuse unit, Detective Sergeant Neville Jenkins, said if police became aware Matthews was to have any access to children, they would be making some "fairly strong submissions" to CYFS.

"But essentially this remains the domain of his parole and of Child, Youth and Family Services' care and protection of the children," he said.

Police arrested Matthews after Caitlyn, who is now four years old, was admitted to Christchurch Hospital in September 2005 with seizures. At the time, doctors did not expect her to live.

She was sent to Starship Hospital in Auckland and was found to have chronic subdural haemorrhages on both sides of her brain as well as retinal haemorrhage.

Caitlyn's mother, Matthews' former partner Natasha Hening, admitted to police she had seen Matthews shake Caitlyn on two occasions.

Matthews pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with reckless disregard for safety and one amended charge of assault on a child five days into his trial early last year. He was sentenced in June.

His first trial, in October 2007, was declared a mistrial.

Hening was sentenced to 18 months prison for failing to provide the necessities of life.

Bevan and Kay Matthews declined to comment yesterday.