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The
Dominion
November 18, 1997
Ellis inquiry may look at actions of Crown lawyer
by Alan Samson
Solicitor-General John McGrath gave a pointer yesterday to possible action
that could be taken to have the Peter Ellis child abuse case reopened.
He said investigations by his office would be confined to the actions of
Crown solicitor Brent Stanaway, who did not declare at Ellis's 1993 High
Court trial that he knew jury foreman the Reverend Peter Williams.
He was not conducting an inquiry into the composition of the jury, but
procedures were open to those concerned about the fairness of any criminal
conviction, once rights of appeal had been exhausted.
"Approaches may be made to the Minister of Justice asking that Cabinet
advise the governor-general to refer particular convictions to the Court of
Appeal," he said.
It was revealed on TV3's 20/20 programme on Sunday that Mr Williams had been
the marriage celebrant at Mr Stanaway's wedding.
Also, that a woman jury member had failed to declare that she was in a
lesbian relationship with a woman who worked closely with the mother of a
child who was Ellis's most credible accuser. This irregularity is beyond the
scope of the Crown Law Office to investigate.
Counsel acting for Ellis, Judith Ablett-Kerr, confirmed that she was
preparing an application to petition Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie Boys
for a free pardon -- the equivalent of an acquittal -- at the end of next
week.
Ms Ablett-Kerr also referred to the possibility of Justice Minister Doug
Graham asking for Court of Appeal intervention.
Ms Ablett-Kerr said she had shelved an intention to go to the Privy Council
because seeking a pardon gave the chance to look beyond narrow legal
arguments.
Asked if she was confident of an early release, she said: "Confident,
cautiously."
Meanwhile, former colleagues of Ellis, including two of the childcare workers
who had similar charges made against them and then dropped, have demanded his
immediate release after the 20/20 revelations.
The revelations included that most or all of the children who made abuse
allegations had recanted, and that police sex abuse team investigator Colin
Eade had been diagnosed as having psychiatric problems and had had intimate
relations with two of the complainants' mothers.
"These disclosures must confirm to the public that a serious miscarriage
of justice has occurred," the former colleagues -- Gaye Davidson, Marie
Keys, Stephanie Hauiti, Jenny Wealleans and Paula Scott -- said. "We yet
again call for a ministerial inquiry into the Civic Creche tragedy."
They said pivotal members of the investigation team -- including police,
crown prosecutors and welfare evidential interviewers -- needed to have their
professional standards scrutinised and be held accountable for them.
The women have also called for an urgent meeting with Police Commissioner
Peter Doone to initiate an investigation into the conduct of Mr Eade and his
associates.
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