|
The
Press
December 4, 1992
Mother wanted abuse expert's aid
The mother of an alleged child victim of sexual abuse wanted an overseas
expert in ritualistic abuse called in to help with the Christchurch Civic
Childcare Centre inquiry, the preliminary hearing in the District Court was
told yesterday.
In a letter to the police sent in August, the woman said she wanted an
overseas author on ritualistic abuse, Ms Pamela Hudson, brought to New Zealand
to discuss the subject.
The mother, whose name is suppressed, said during cross-examination she had
grave concerns as to whether anyone in New Zealand had sufficient
expertise to deal with children who had been ritually abused, and their
families.
Five former staff are accused of sexually abusing some of the children who
attended the creche.
Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis, aged 34, faces 45 indecency charges. The former
manager of the creche, Gaye Jocelyn Davidson, aged 39, Janice Virginia
Buckingham, aged 44, and Marie Keys, aged 44, each face four charges. Deborah
Janet Gillespie, aged 30, faces three charges.
The witness said the person counselling her son had indicated that it could
be helpful to have an expert in ritualistic abuse brought in to assist.
Counsel for the Crown, Mr Chris Lange, said the question of ritualistic abuse
did not form any part of the Crown's case against the defendants.
Cross-examined by counsel for the four women, Mr Gerald Nation, the mother
said she had not considered the possibility that ritual abuse had taken place
until her son mentioned it.
She said her son had mentioned a group of Asian men, five teenagers and 22
other people whom he alleged had abused children.
He had spoken of a visit to a church where he said two children had been made
to dress up and marry each other. When asked if he had been forced to take
part in the marriage, he threw a tantrum and walked out of the room. He later
returned to the room and said he had something to say.
The witness said her son talked freely about what he said had happened to
other children, but found it extremely painful to talk about what happened to
him. He became agitated when events he was describing were painful for him.
She said her son had talked to her about a graveyard where he said he was
placed in a cage with a cat, and left for 30 minutes. He also said a friend
of Ellis's had been put in a box and buried in the-ground.
The mother said she had been advised by the police not to ask leading
questions of her son and had asked direct questions. She did not think these
had been leading questions.
She said the thought of her son having been abused had caused her
considerable distress and anger. The hardest part had been keeping herself in
complete control and not revealing her anxiety to her son.
The witness said she had been upset and angry when the specialist services
unit of the Department of Social Welfare cancelled a scheduled interview with
her son in August. She understood this was done because she had questioned
her son about alleged abuse before the interview was due to take place.
She said she believed she and her partner had done a particularly good job in
making their son feel safe and secure, enabling him to speak to a stranger
about things which were painful to him.
She said she had had some social contact with other parents who had children
at the creche. This began after her son first disclosed alleged abuse.
She said she believed she had an obligation to tell parents of children named
by her son as having being abused, despite police advice to the contrary.
The contact with other parents helped her survive and cope with what was
happening.
The hearing of depositions, to decide if the accused will be sent for trial,
is not expected to finish until the end of January.
|
