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The
Christchurch Civic Creche Case |
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Convicted child abuser
Peter Ellis will meet his lawyer today to discuss the possibility of bail
after his case was yesterday referred back to the Court of Appeal. Justice Minister Doug
Graham yesterday announced Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie Boys had
referred Ellis' convictions to the Appeal Court. His bid for a free pardon
had been rejected. Ellis, 40 on Monday,
has been in prison for four years and nine months after being sentenced to 10
years' jail for abusing children at the Christchurch civic creche. His Dunedin lawyer,
Judith Ablett-Kerr, said yesterday she and Ellis were "over the
moon". She would discuss with
Ellis the possibility of bail when she met him at Christchurch's Paparua
Prison this afternoon. Such events happened so seldom it was hard to tell if
he would be allowed bail. She hoped it would not
be long before the case was reheard -- perhaps around June. She said there had been
fewer than 10 cases in New Zealand legal history in which someone in
circumstances similar to Ellis had been allowed to appeal. "I was
particularly pleased for Peter that he would now have the opportunity to
clear his name in open court. "Constitutionally,
the referral back to the Court of Appeal is something that's desirable from
the point of view of letting everyone know what's happening." She said
if Ellis had been pardoned no one would have known why. "That's the attraction
of going back to the Court of Appeal." His mother, Lesley
Ellis, said she also preferred the option of going back to court to prove her
son's innocence. "A pardon implies
guilt. You don't get pardoned for doing nothing." She
wanted it acknowledged that her son was not guilty. |
