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A mother took a year to believe the sex abuse
indicated by a child complainant, the trial of a child care worker in the
High Court was told yesterday. The mother of the fifth complainant in the trial of
Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis, aged 35, said she and her daughter were having a
bath together when her daughter talked about a day where she had gone to Ellis's
house and bathed with him. Her daughter had acted out postures which suggested
oral sex and sexual intercourse, the woman said. She had not wanted to
believe what she was seeing, and it had really taken her a year to believe
it. Ellis denies 28 charges of sexually abusing
children at the Christchurch Civic Crèche between 1986 and 1992. The complainant, a seven-year-old girl, in an
interview recorded in August last year and played to the court, said Ellis
had made her "drink his wees". He had been sitting on a toilet in
the crèche when he had "weed on her face". She said both that Ellis had been sitting and
standing during the incident and that "wees" had gone and not gone
into her mouth. When asked what happened afterwards, her first answer was
that she had gone off playing, but later she said he had made her "clean
it up". She had seen the same thing happen to two other
girls at the crèche, and she said that Ellis's pants were off but also on
during the incident. She had seen "wees no actually poos come out",
she said. Ellis had told her that her mother would not love
her any more if she told anyone about the incident, the girl told the
interviewer. She had also gone to "Peter's house" and
first said, "We did not do anything else but ride the horse." Questioned
further, she said Ellis had asked her if she wanted a bath and, she had
undressed and bathed with him. He did "wees no poos" in the bath. He had washed her bottom and she had washed
numerous parts of his body. When referred to his penis, she said she had
washed that too. First she said she had washed her own vagina but then that
Peter had. She described various positions in the bath that
Ellis had adopted and said that was "sexing". His penis had touched
her vagina, she said. Ellis had also taken her and other children to his
bach but they had had happy times there, she said. When the interviewer said
"Mum" had told her something else had touched her vagina, the
complainant said Ellis had put "needles up her bum" and there had
been lots of blood. Ellis faces charges of doing an indecent act,
inducing an indecent act, and attempted sexual intercourse as a result of the
interviews. Questioned by Mr Brent Stanaway for the Grown, the
complainant said she had not told her parents about the abuse because she was
too young. Ellis had "threatened to kill our mothers if we told on
him", she said. In cross-examination by Mr Robert Harrison for Ellis,
the girl said talking to another complainant in the case had helped her
remember about the needle and Ellis putting his penis against her vagina. On the day of the bath she had gone to the country in
a horse and carriage with Ellis and had also gone to Orana Park In a van. If Ellis said the events which she alleged had not
happened, "it's not true", she said. She had had her feet together when Ellis had
touched her vagina with his penis, she said. Her mother (the names of complainants and parents
are suppressed) said her daughter had left the crèche In November 1990.
During the interview process, her daughter started being frightened at night
and she had twice scratched the word "help" into the woodwork at
home. She had always been quiet after attending crèche,
and problems with soreness in the genital area had reoccurred during the
interview process. When her daughter had disclosed to her In the bath, she
had not known about the allegations against Ellis In any detail, she said. They had prepared a couple of booklets together to
get all the information about Ellis into perspective. (Proceeding) |
