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The Christchurch Civic
Creche Case |
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00:00 PRESENTER Susan Wood to CAMERA
introducing Ellis Through The Looking Glass. 01:17 MONTAGE GVs Christchurch City cemetery
and church 01:39 V/O unidentified woman re abuse of
children and threats to enforce secrecy. 01:50 CU PAN newsclips re Satanism and Satanic
rights. 02:06 I/V Professor Michael Hill, Victoria
University, Wellington, re influence of visiting American lecturers,
so-called experts in Satanic abuse, they brought the material to New Zealand
and then claimed that since these activities were happening in the States similar
things must be happening in New Zealand. 02:16 HA MS PAN Christchurch city buildings
shrouded in fog 02:47 I/V Winston Wealleans re it was hysteria
and away it went, policemen who were looking for these things who believed
there was widespread sexual abuse out there in the community. 03:00 HA WS ZOOM IN to MWS church. 03:06 CU sign "Civic Child Care
Centre", 03:31 I/V mother (IDENTITY OBSCURED) re child
commenting he didn't like Peter's black penis, saying he had seen Peter's
penis in the sleep room. 03:44 (SF) (CH) GVs INT Civic Child Care
Centre creche (Christchurch), caregiver and child, children and toys. 03:59 MWS photograph, 04:15 I/V father (IDENTITY OBSCURED) re Peter
Ellis did not act alone, it was organised and systematic method of abuse. 04:21 LA MS TILT DOWN Christchurch District
Court. 04:28 (LCT) 1992 Peter Ellis walking to court
to face charges of sexual abuse, 04:47 I/V Gaye Davidson, former creche
supervisor, re I just couldn't believe that people could think I was capable
of doing the things I was accused of, couldn't believe that the creche was harbouring
such a group of people and yet carry on with the atmosphere it was carrying
on, it took me a long time, in fact I don't think I fully trust people now
because of what has happened to me. 05:08 (LCT) GVs women who were charged opening
champagne to celebrate the dropping of charges. 05:18 (LCT) MS Peter Ellis waiting for door to
open, walking into parking building. 05:30 I/V Malcolm and Mary Cox who believe
that Peter Ellis has been wrongly convicted, re a miscarriage of justice. 05:43 REPORTER to CAMERA outside Paparua Prison
re opinions of Peter Ellis sharply divided. 06:00 (LCT) EXT "Civic Child Care
Centre" sign on gate, playground deserted, 06:27 I/V woman (IDENTITY OBSCURED), former
lover of Peter Ellis, re I always believed that his attachment to some of the
children was unnatural, with the girls it was like they were his girlfriends,
his partners, his lovers, as if they were his possessions, toys. 06:53 CU book Jeopardy In The Courtroom by a
leading authority on child testimony in the court-room, Stephen Ceci. 07:00 I/V Professor Stephen Ceci, Cornell
University, re seeing many claims similar to the Ellis case, claims often
have an amalgam of credible and highly incredible claims, sorting the wheat
from the chaff becomes extremely difficult, some of the things the children
said, I would be extremely sceptical that they ever occurred. 07:27 (LCT) GVs children playing outdoors at
the Christchurch Civic Child Care Centre. 07:42 CU 1991 Education Review Office report
on the Christchurch Civic Child Care Centre, 07:58 GVs Malcolm and Mary Cox, parents
associated with the creche, in their home. 08:51 I/V mother (IDENTITY OBSCURED) who laid
the first complaint against Peter Ellis in 1991, maybe Peter (Ellis) exposed
himself in the sleep room, maybe masturbated in front of the children, no reason
to doubt the veracity of what her child said. 09:21 (LCT) Peter Ellis walking along street,
getting into car 09:36 I/V mother (IDENTITY OBSCURED) re I am
not so obsessed with sexual abuse, I had done some work with some people who
had been abused as children, when they were adults and I had done some teaching
about disclosure, adults disclosing to some professional organisations but I
just can't believe that anyone would want to think that we would put
ourselves through this, it has destroyed our lives. 10:00 CU police letter to Christchurch Council
re investigating complaint, finding no evidence of abuse but commenting on
Peter Ellis. 10:20 REPORTER to CAMERA re Peter Ellis
suspended, flurry of complaints. 10:42 LCT) MS Marie Keys at work at
Christchurch Civic Child Care Centre. I/V Marie Keys, former creche worker,
re public hysteria, meetings with police, social workers, Council, assured no
worries at this stage, parents talking, questioning their children, it just
grew from there. 11:26 I/V woman complainant (IDENTITY
OBSCURED) re I felt a lot of other children had been at risk and I was
concerned for children I care about, of friends that I know, they may have
contacted other people that they knew but that was not my responsibility,
denies creating a climate of fear at the creche. 12:03 REPORTER to CAMERA re woman moved her
child to another creche where she again accused a male worker of abusing a
child, the complaint investigated by police who found no evidence of any wrongdoing. 12:17 RECONSTRUCTION evidential interview of
child alleged to have been abused, in 1992 evidential interviews began in
earnest. 12:55 RECONSTRUCTION of meeting of anxious
parents at Knox Hall in Christchurch, 1992, the day after Peter Ellis was
arrested, parents confronting panel of police, Social Welfare, Council and
ACC officers, 13:51 BLANK. 13:59 RECONSTRUCTION Satanic ritual involving
children 14:32 RECONSTRUCTION small boy being
interviewed. 15:14 I/V Marie Keys re bizarre claims made by
children are totally mind blowing. 15:44 I/V Gaye Davidson re child questioned by
mother, asking her what she wanted him to say because nothing had happened to
him. 16:12 PAN from Christchurch street with
horse-drawn carriages to upper level office of Christchurch psychologist
Rosemary Smart in her office, 17:23 (SF) (CH) GVs creche workers sitting
around table, studying Rosemary Smart's report. 17:46 I/V Janice Buckingham, former creche
worker, re police question of why was something not noticed by staff members,
look there were 13 staff and we are not idiots, Manson he is not, I don't
believe for a minute that he could have hoodwinked all of us. 18:06 (SF) (CH) GVs police officers leaving
Gaye Davidson's house carrying bags of evidence samples, police arrested four
women concluding they had been active participants in the abuse. 18:22 (SF) (CH) SOFT FOCUS GVs children in
playground, police investigation had involved interviewing 116 children of
whom they believed 80 had been abused. 18:42 (LCT) GVs lawyers in court, Nigel
Hampton QC in court who believed police evidence seriously flawed. 19:44 MS REPORTER climbing into overalls to
inspect parts of the building where abuse is alleged to have occurred, 21:31 I/V Roger Keys re there was no evidence,
where were the cages, where were the coffins that they were supposed to be
buried in, where is the boy Andrew's body who was supposed to have been murdered
at the Civic, stabbed in the head and laying in a coffin, question of parents
coming to collect Andrew, all it was was the word of the children. 22:10 GRAPHIC model of creche, with toilet
area just off main play area, and supervisor's office with direct view of
toilet area. 22:36 I/V Gaye Davidson re he (Peter Ellis) is
alleged to have taken the child into the toilet area and defecated or
urinated on them, then supposed to have taken the child out, have the child cleaned
up and convinced he wasn't to say anything, have the child all happy before someone
else arrived, it is inconceivable, it could never have happened. 23:02 RECONSTRUCTION CU hand unlocking gate. 23:38 I/V Gaye Davidson re incredibility of
children's stories, inability to keep unhappy children quiet about anything
over that period of time. 23:53 (LCT) SLOW MOTION Peter Ellis followed
by women creche workers arriving at court to face charges. 24:10 BLANK. 24:17 RECONSTRUCTION GVs children interviewed
by psychologist social workers 24:47 RECONSTRUCTION child being interviewed
about Peter Ellis behaviour. 25:19 (LCT) Gerald Nation, Christchurch
lawyer, talking to four women creche workers facing charges. 26:04 REPORTER to CAMERA outside Christchurch
District Court re depositions hearings, Ellis facing 45 charges, Gaye
Davidson, Janice Buckingham and Marie Keys facing four charges and Debbie Gillespie
three, hearings to last 11 weeks, some 40 video interviews that Social
Welfare had carried out with young complainants. 26:33 (SF) (CH) GVs police officers carrying
in boxes of files, evidence for the depositions hearing. 27:00 I/V Gaye Davidson re incredible that
evidence got as far as depositions, we are supposed to have got a child to
have stabbed another child, supposed to have buried children, to have cooked them
in ovens, to have walked them to strange places to be abused by unknown
people, to have walked them back to be ready for their parents to pick up,
everyone happy, no one child or adult saying anything. 27:24 (LCT) MS Gerald Nation leaving court
followed by the four women facing charges, committed for trial in the High
Court. 27:38 (LCT) I/V Gerald Nation at news conference
outside District Court re the way our legal system operates their committal
for trial was not unexpected, naturally they are disappointed at the result
and the fact that their ordeal continues. 28:14 I/V Gerald Nation re in New Zealand
people do not normally have to stand trial unless there is evidence on which
a jury could properly convict them, if there is not that sort of evidence,
not enough of that evidence, then people don't have to stand trial but His
Honour did say in this case that that alone would not have been sufficient,
there was the prejudice through the association with Peter Ellis and the fact
that there was going to be delay that in this case caused him to discharge
them and I must admit I had difficulty accepting that reasoning. 28:46 REPORTER to CAMERA re Justice
Williamson's reluctance to acquit the women, none awarded costs, legal bills
of $900,000. 29:08 I/V Marie Keys re I am still shocked
that it happened to me and to us, that they could get it so wrong, I do get
angry sometimes when I think of all these years, wasted years, when we should
have been getting on with our lives, building up for the future, almost feel
contempt for some of these people who can't see that they have got it so
wrong. 29:40 NIGHT SHOT Christchurch Cranmer Centre
building 30:25 RECONSTRUCTION MWS court upstanding as
judge takes his place at the bench in the High Court. 30:49 RECONSTRUCTION CU Crown lawyers in
court. 31:03 I/V Nigel Hampton re if they (jury) had
seen the whole range they may have doubted the extraordinary thing that is
being said when there has never been any physical evidence to corroborate it,
how could it possibly have happened, the answer is no. 31:18 RECONSTRUCTION Peter Ellis trial,
lawyers, jury, closed circuit playing of videotapes of children being
interviewed by social worker psychologist. 31:53 (SF) CU closed circuit television
interview room, lawyers wig on bench 32:28 GRAPHIC comment by Justice Williamson re
unlike almost all of those who have publicly feasted off this case by
expressing their opinions the jury actually saw and heard each of the
children, they believed the children and I agree with that assessment. 32:42 REPORTER to CAMERA questioning the
evidence and the finding of guilty beyond reasonable doubt. 33:00 (LCT) MS Doctor Karen Zelas working at
her desk, 33:16 CU letter from Doctor Karen Zelas to
police concerning the credibility, it is clear that child A's parents
elicited disclosures of abuse by Peter Ellis by highly leading questioning, in
child B's case the parents subjected him to intensive interrogation
pertaining to ritual abuse, he would then disclose in the next interview the
information elicited by his parents the previous night. 33:43 GVs Michael Hill studying books and
newsclips. 34:24 RECONSTRUCTION CU document re
Christchurch Civic Child Care Centre Investigation 34:59 BLANK. 35:04 (SFX) MONTAGE small children out
walking, holding on to leading rope, 35:25 RECONSTRUCTION evidential interview with
small boy. 35:44 I/V Nigel Hampton re critical of the
interviewing process, you have a very disturbing pattern emerging when you
look at the interviews with an individual child of for a start possibly
nothing or if anything quite innocuous things being said at first interview,
from then on second third fourth sometimes up to sixth interview the
allegations emerging from being almost nothing to becoming allegations of
touching, to allegations of Satanic ritual abuse, what was happening is that
memories were being constructed within them, no genuine memories at all but
how do you discern the genuine memory from the constructed memory. 36:33 RECONSTRUCTION evidential interview with
small girl who was tired of questioning, wanted to go home. 37:06 (FF) 1994 GVs lawyers in Court of Appeal
which heard and rejected Peter Ellis appeal against conviction did not accept
that his defence was handicapped by the High Court judges ruling which resulted
in the jury only seeing half the videotaped interviews. 37:26 GRAPHIC Appeal Court quotation, he was
clearly right in seeking to prevent the trial becoming enmeshed in all the collateral
and peripheral matters covered in the tapes not relied on by the Crown and
about exposing the jury to the playing of many hours of irrelevant material
thereby distracting them from consideration of the real issues. 37:48 REPORTER to CAMERA in Court of Appeal re
retraction by one of the Crown's key complainants, her parents told the court
that she was now saying that she had lied during the evidential interviews about
Peter Ellis and had the answers she thought the interviewer wanted to hear. 38:12 RECONSTRUCTION evidential interview with
child who retracted her evidence. 38:41 (FF) 1994 CU Justice Department Coat of
Arms 39:06 (LCT) Peter Ellis walking along street,
Peter Ellis convicted on remaining 13 counts upheld by Court of Appeal, 39:37 I/V Roger Keys re only evidence is what
the children said, that's what the argument is all about, only so-called
evidence there is, where is the medical evidence. 39:54 MS Professor Stephen Ceci walking to
parapet looking at view. 41:51 I/V mother (IDENTITY OBSCURED) who lived
with Peter Ellis for two years in the mid 80s when he worked at the creche,
he lied about just about everything in his life, his age, his saying he had been
married and had two children. 44:21 (LCT) Peter Ellis outside court. 44:26 CU letter from Peter Ellis to Assignment
from Paparua Prison maintaining his innocence re belief that child who
recanted will one day tell the truth, over-zealous so-called experts and
police officers. 45:02 (LCT) MS Peter Ellis walking along
street, 45:23 PRESENTER to CAMERA re creche workers
being awarded compensation for losing their jobs when the City Council
abruptly closed the creche in 1992, the Council is appealing against the Employment
Court decision, one parent considering suing Christchurch City Council for
damages. 46:02 CREDITS. 47:39 CREDITS, END. |
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