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The
Christchurch Civic Creche Case |
The Peter Ellis case continues to divide New Zealand. Recently
released from prison, the man himself talks about the fight to clear his name As a show of faith, Peter Ellis could hardly have asked for
anything more significant. Several of the children who had once attended the
Christchurch Civic Creche came to visit him in jail, former playmates of the
very same children whose evidence had helped put Peter behind bars, branded a
paedophile. It was displays of support like this - from the children, their
parents and a growing number of New Zealanders concerned about the justice of
the Ellis case - which helped Peter through the nearly seven years he served
of his 10-year sentence. In 1993, he was convicted of sexually abusing
children between 1986 and 1992 at the Christchurch creche, where he worked. Peter has maintained his innocence from the start and, in a
growing climate of public and political unease about his conviction, with the
help of lawyer Judith Ablett-Kerr QC, he's now fighting to clear his name
with a full commission of inquiry into the case. Justice Minister Phil Goff has acknowledged concerns about the
Ellis case and has asked his officials to advise on what kind of an inquiry
should be held. Peter himself is reluctant to discuss the children's prison
visits in detail, as he feels it could bring unwarranted criticism on their
parents. "I think about eight children came in all," he says.
"The biggest surprise really was their parents still looked exactly the
same but the children, of course, had grown. Some of them I remember were
only three or four and minus a few front teeth, so to see them years later
was quite a shock." And while that's the only comment he'll make on the subject,
Peter agrees its a significant display of faith in his innocence from the vey
quarters of- the community which put him away and one he's taken great
comfort from. The six children on whose evidence Peter's conviction lies are
now aged between 11 and 13. One of the girls involved in initial investigations
admitted later she hadn't told the truth, for which Peter says he will be
forever grateful. "The girl is a young woman now but she was the oldest of
the children in the case at the time and she admitted she hadn't told the
truth. She was brave - she stood and was counted - and she still is brave
today. I don't believe there was any malice on anyone's part. And I
have never been bitter about it, because I've got support" Peter's mother, Lesley, believes it would be wishful thinking to
hope her son's salvation could lie with the consciences of those other young
minds. "Wouldn't it be nice if they all suddenly discovered it
didn't happen?" she says. "I feel sad about them. To me, those six
children were the ones they managed to break. Their lives have been spoilt
too. "The first interviews, where they said nothing happened,
were never used in evidence. The interviews of all the others who said
nothing happened were never used either." Relaxing in the seaside home she moved into just days before
Peter's release, Lesley, a single mother-of-four who separated from her
husband 32 years ago, admits the past decade has been tough. The battle is far from over, however, and, even
at 63, she plans to continue making a stand for justice and her son -
whatever the personal cost. Despite incredible stress, Lesley has abandoned her plans for
retirement, continuing with her job at a debt collecting agency in order to
help support her son. She left her secondary school teaching position after
the court case began. "You can't teach with something like this going
on." Peter's first day home, on 2 February, was a "big day"
but not a celebratory one. That won't come until his innocence is declared,
although a recent gathering of the 50-strong supporters, including four women
creche workers who lost their jobs after initially being charged with him,
was a chance to relax at last. "It's early days and things are still quite tense for us
really," Lesley says. "We're wondering what effect we're going to have
on the community. People have to know we're here and, so far, they've been
wonderful - showing their support with a wave or a 'hello'. I think Peter is
feeling warmth." Lesley's staunch support of Peter has never diminished despite
the agony of the trial and two unsuccessful appeals. She remembers acute
frustration and concern at being kept out of court - creating the impression
he was an isolated soul. "It's always a thing people look for - whether the family
is there. First, police kept me out, because they were going to call me as a
witness. Then, the defence thought they might call me too. In the end, I
wasn't called at all. I always felt I had to be the face of the case while
Peter wasn't there." Lesley has kept to her word. She says prison has changed her
son, not just in the fact he looks much leaner and has grown his hair long
but in attitude too. "He's not bitter but he is more cynical now. I went every
week to see him inside, usually for about two-and-a-half hours at a time. We
talked flat out. It was really traumatic for both of us to start with. He was
shut in a little room the size of a toilet with just two stools bolted to the
floor and all the inmates had to wear pyjamas. It was in the old part of the
prison with the big, clanging doors. "It really was quite hard but I remember the prison
chaplain told me Peter really could have had a terrible time - that's what
normally happens to those in for child abuse. But it never once happened to
him. He's done a lot of good work, helping other inmates, while inside." Peter says he made many friends in prison and his beloved cat,
Fergus, "did my time" with him. "For one birthday, I got a
card signed by every single inmate, all 59 of them - something one of the
officers said had never happened before." Although he doesn't have immediate plans for the future, Peter
has become passionate about the concept of restorative justice and, in
particular, bringing back the use of half-way houses such as the
"brilliant" self-contained units where he carried out the last year
of his sentence. 'Not competing' The mother of one of the children whose evidence helped convict
Peter Ellis and who wrote a book recounting the family's ordeal, A Mother's
Story (under the pseudonym Joy Bander), declined to speak to New Zealand
Woman's Weekly after learning Peter and Lesley would be featured. "We
don't want to compete," her husband told us. However, the parents did admit they were pleased Commissioner
for Children Roger McClay had expressed concerns that the campaign to clear
Peter's name was being conducted at the expense of the children involved. Lump-sum payments for sexual abuse victims were still available
under ACC laws at the time of the case and it's understood more than $500,000
was paid out to 60 claimants, with some families receiving up to $50,000 for
multiple claims relating to the charges. Why the creche case just won't go away Key reasons for growing concern over the investigation, trial
and conviction of Peter Ellis are: ·
Allegations of abuse were initiated by a
sexual abuse counselor later shown to have a psychiatric history ·
Rumour and parental networking may have
influenced the testimony of children ·
Flimsy and bizarre evidence with satanic
links included ritual killing of babies, sticking sharp objects into boys'
penises and hanging children in a cage from the creche ceiling. Peter was
also accused of defecating and urinating on children ·
Methods used to interview the children
included multiple interviews and other discredited techniques. Parents were
told not to press their children for information but in her book, A Mother's
Story, Joy Bander admitted she did ·
Peter would have had incredible
difficulty in carrying out the described abuse in a busy creche attended by
more than 30 children, whose parents visited every day yet saw nothing wrong ·
There was no physical evidence of abuse
or corroborating evidence. No unsolicited complaints came from the creche
children about Peter. None of the children reported problems until after the
investigation began ·
The jury didn't see all the interviews
recorded by the complainant children Long-time Peter Ellis supporter Winston Weallens says a
commission of inquiry is the only acceptable way ahead. 'We want the whole
background of this exposed, because, otherwise, it would happen again and
those characters involved wouldn't have to be held accountable for their
actions, which put an innocent guy away for seven years." |
