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Convicted child abuser Peter Ellis
has lost his second appeal against the Christchurch Civic Creche charges he
first faced in March 1992. The Court of Appeal in Outside court, Ellis' lawyer,
Judith Ablett-Kerr, QC, said the result wasn't the last word on the case. "The battle to clear Mr
Ellis' name goes on," she said. She said she would go back to Sir
Michael and ask again for a free pardon for Ellis. She would also endorse
Ellis' mother Lesley's request for a royal commission of inquiry. The five appeal judges said that
throughout the appeal references were made to material that was not properly
before the court - all unproved and untested. The court said it was urged to pay
regard to all the material in the interests of justice, but it said it was
not made clear how it was in the interests of justice to abandon established
rules and basic principles. The court did not consider
questions about the integrity and ability of the police officer in charge of
the investigation because it wasn't included in the Governor-General's
reference. The court said no individual
ground of appeal succeeded, and the cumulative effect of the matters raised
didn't amount to a miscarriage of justice. Mrs Ellis said this morning from "What another waste of money
and a waste of time and effort," she said. "We've got no further
forward." In its judgment, the Court of
Appeal said there might be matters worthy of a commission of inquiry but the
court couldn't undertake that kind of function in an appeal hearing. Ellis is due for release in
February, when he will have served two-thirds of his 10-year sentence.
However, he and his supporters still want his name cleared. Mrs Ellis said the last hope was
for a commission of inquiry. "We're hoping that everybody
will support that this time, that people will write . . . and put their
weight behind it, because clearly the judiciary aren't going to do
anything," she said. Ellis and four women workers from
Christchurch Civic Creche were charged with child abuse in 1992. The creche
later closed. The women were discharged, but
Ellis was convicted of 10 charges. Although he had three convictions
relating to one child overturned in 1994 at his first appeal, the substance
of the case against him was upheld. The quashed convictions formed the
basis of part of his latest appeal. The appeal said that when one girl
retracted her allegations, it made the remaining counts unsafe. She was the
oldest of the children and the first to complain about Ellis. Ellis' lawyers
said her allegations gave credence to the others at trial. But the Court of Appeal said the
girl's allegations had nothing particular in common with other charges and
the jury was told to consider the evidence on each charge separately. Both appeals questioned the
credibility of child witnesses and the way they were interviewed. Mrs Ablett-Kerr said it was no
criticism of the Court of Appeal but the appeal structure in |
