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The Press
December 9, 1992.
'Night fears grew' in crèche child
An alleged child victim of sexual abuse became very
afraid at night time from the age of three onwards, his mother told a
preliminary hearing in the District Court.
He expressed a fear of monsters and wolves and was afraid of things coming in
the window. He was especially afraid of burglars, asked if they killed
people, and inquired how they got into a house when the doors and windows
were locked.
His mother, whose name was suppressed, was giving evidence at a hearing to
decide if five former staff of the Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre
accused of sexually abusing some children in their care will be sent for
trial.
She said she and her partner and their son now slept in the same room, which
they called the "safe sleep" room, to try to ease their son's
fears.
The witness said that at age four her son experienced nightmares and at four
years six months he experienced "night tremors" in which his eyes
would be open while he slept. He would get up in his sleep and reach out.
Sometimes he also screamed and clawed at her face.
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 mother said that often when her son came home from creche after about the
age of three, his stomach would be distended. He said he did not like going
to the toilet at the creche. He would not go to the toilet alone at home.
On two occasions he said Ellis had urinated and excreted on children at the
creche and children had urinated and excreted on the floor of the creche.
The witness said she thought that comment by her son was "odd" and
asked him how it could be so. He replied that he was only joking. She said
her son often joked when he was under emotional stress.
For a three-week period this year her son would not go alone to the bathroom,
where the toilet was located, and would get angry and scream if left alone.
He later transferred that fear of being alone to the whole house.
From the age of three until quite recently he had not wanted to play outside
and would not let his parents out of his sight, his mother said.
From the age of four years six months he became very angry and would shout
and scream at his mother, clenching his fist. He initially restrained himself
but this year had begun hitting her.
Cross-examined by counsel for the four women, Mr Gerald Nation, the witness
agreed she had ignored advice from those involved in the inquiry not to
directly question their children about particular individuals.
She said she had grown to like Ellis and was shocked and hurt when she heard
of its allegations against him.
Cross-examined by counsel for Ellis, Mr Robert Harrison, she said she had
passed on information about abuse her son alleged had occurred to another
woman, who had made the initial compliant of improper conduct at the creche.
She said she had seen notes the woman had made of allegations made by other
children who had attended the creche.
The witness said her son had alleged he had seen squashed in a sliding door
until he was made to vomit and had vomit smeared on his face or body. He also
said he had been hit in the stomach until he vomited.
She said she had not noticed any physical injury to her son consistent with
such actions having taken place.
Another witness, whose name was suppressed, said one of her sons, who
attended the creche, had developed quite severe nightmares in October last
year and developed a fear of monsters and wolves.
She said that on the whole she liked Ellis, whom she described as an
extremely good face painter, an activity that was very popular with children
at the creche.
She had some slight concerns about Ellis's "manipulative and
controlling" manner with children and his use of sarcasm to make a point
with them
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