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The
Press
March 5 1993.
Creche charges to be finalised today
Charges against
the five former Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre workers committed to
trial on indecency charges will be finalised at a pre-trial conference today.
Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis, aged 34, was committed for trial on 42 of the
original 45 informations against him. Deborah Janet Gillespie, aged 30, was
committed on two of three charges and Gaye Jocelyn Davidson, aged 39, Marie
Keys, aged 43, and Janice Virginia Buckingham, aged 45, were committed on
four charges each.
Over the last few weeks Crown counsel have been drafting the indictments
which the accused will face at their High Court trial.
The Crown has the option of laying new or different charges from those it
presented at the recent District Court hearing which assessed the evidence
against the accused.
Some of the accused may learn they now face no charges, possibly as a result
of the withdrawal of one or more complainants.
If complainants will not be available for cross-examination at the trial
charges based on their evidence must be dropped unless other complainants
make the same allegations.
Under the timetable set by the High Court pre-trial applications must be
started by March 15. Applications could challenge the admissibility of video
taped evidence and seek the discharge of the accused for lack of evidence
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