TWO police officers will stand trial at Dubbo after the Chief Judge of the District Court of NSW rejected a proposal to hold a special court fixture in Sydney.
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Justice Reg Blanch has determined the case involving Senior Constable Frank Shields and Constable Carl Giusti should remain in the local area.
Shields and Giusti have pleaded not guilty to charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and taking/detaining in company with intent to gain advantage.
The Department of Public Prosecutions allege the police officers approached a teenaged boy at the Wellington skate park before placing him a headlock, forcing him into a marked caged police truck and taking him to another area where the boy was assaulted.
The incident, alleged to have taken place on August 7 last year, was reported to police after the boy was dropped off at a relative's home.
The officers, both from Orana Local Area Command, were suspended from the NSW Police Force but remained on full pay.
Giusti and Shields were committed to stand trial during an appearance in Dubbo Local Court in April.
When the matter was mentioned in Dubbo District Court, Judge Gordon Lerve described the case as high-profile.
A trial, expected to run for three weeks, will begin at Dubbo on July 23, 2013.