"Waikato Times"

Hamilton, New Zealand

November 21, 1997

Page 8

"Officer's morals did not affect Ellis case: union"

The morals of a detective involved in the Christchurch creche sex abuse inquiry had no bearing on its outcome, Police Association president Greg O'Connor says.

Mr O'Connor yesterday sais he was appalled that former Detective Colin Eade's relationship with two mothers of children at the creche was being used in defence of former Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre worker Peter Ellis.

"The detective's behaviour may have been inappropriate, but the relationships occurred after the inquiry had finished and he's left the police," Mr O'Connor said.

Ellis has served more than four years of a 10-year sentence after he was found guilty of abusing seven children in his care after a trial in 1993.

Although the verdict has always been controversial, renewed doubts were raised on Sunday when TV3's 20/20 programme made several new allegations including that Eade, a key detective on the case, had intimate relationships with the mothers of two complainants.

Police Commissioner Peter Doone announced this week that the detective's behaviour would be investigated.

Mr O'Connor said he was astounded at the public and political reaction to "one very unbalanced television programme".

"The performance of the detective was a very minor part of the final outcome. What matters is that the evidence was heard by a jury and judge and Ellis was found guilty. The judge took the unusual step at the end of the trial of commenting that he agreed with the jury's decision."

The conviction of Ellis as a paedophile was upheld on appeal.

Mr Eade yesterday admitted he had propositioned the mother of one of the children at the centre of the 1992 inquiry.

He said he had made "an inappropriate comment" to the mother of one of the children during a phone call after coming home from "a night out on the town."

"I have deeply regretted it ever since and the next day I spoke to that parent and in a pretty pathetic attempt to justify it, I said I was joking and the result of that was ahe made a complaint," he said.

He confirmed he had relationships with two other women connected to the case after the case was over.

-NZPA