Dwight Howard -- Uncle Is the D.A. ... In Child Abuse Investigation

Fact: The child abuse investigation into NBA star Dwight Howard has just been kicked to the Atlanta PD.

Fact: If charges are brought against Dwight, the matter would be prosecuted by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.

Fact: The Fulton County District Attorney ... is Dwight Howard's uncle.

We broke the story ... the Cobb County PD was initially handling the investigation into allegations Dwight beat his 6-year-old son Braylon with a belt buckle.

But the CCPD tells us investigators now believe the alleged incident occurred in Fulton County, where Dwight's uncle has been the head prosecutor in charge since 1997.

So, what does it mean? Paul Howard is almost certainly going to have to recuse himself from the case ... which would likely mean the prosecution would be handled by the Georgia Attorney General (and judging by his photo, we're guessing there's no relation).

If Paul doesn't recuse himself, you could bet the alleged victim will put up a helluva fight ... for obvious reasons.