Detective Senior Sergeant Rebecca Cotton:

Two people were yesterday charged in relation to the ongoing investigation into injuries sustained by two Lower Hutt children, dubbed Operation Tempo.

A 25-year-old man has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, wilful ill treatment of a dog, attempting to pervert the course of justice and selling cannabis and cultivating cannabis.

A 25-year-old woman has also been charged with two charges of failing to protect a child, two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice and failure to carry out obligations in relation to computer search.

Both were held in custody overnight and are due to appear in the Hutt Valley District Court today.

These charges follow two search warrants executed at different addresses in the Hutt Valley yesterday.

“We are elated to be able to share this news and recognise the genuine concern and outrage from the community that has gotten us here,” says Detective Senior Sergeant Cotton.

“This result cannot be attributed to any one thing – a number of enquiries have taken place over the past week culminating in interviews with the two people that have been charged yesterday afternoon.

“Our priorities have been twofold - ensuring those responsible for the harm these two children have suffered are put before the court, and the ongoing welfare of these two siblings.”

The four- and five-year-old siblings are still recovering well and remain in a safe place where they can be supported and cared for.

The investigation remains ongoing, and further charges have not been ruled out as the enquiry progresses.

As a result of the two arrests, Police have a substantial amount of further enquiries to conduct. We are not ruling out any further charges at this stage.

Police continue to be interested in any information relating to this matter and encourage anyone to contact us on 105 or via 105.police.govt.nz and reference file number: 240308/4647

Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

As the matter is now before the court we are unable to provide anything further.

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