|
The Press
March 14, 2001
Inquiry delivers blow to Ellis
Staff Reporters
Convicted child abuser Peter Ellis has been dealt
what could be a knockout blow in his battle to overturn his convictions and
clear his name.
Justice Minister Phil Goff yesterday announced that Governor-General Sir
Michael Hardie Boys had on his advice rejected Ellis' third bid for a pardon.
The case began at the Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre, where Ellis
worked, almost 10 years ago and has since gone through a High Court trial,
two Court of Appeal proceedings, and finally last year a Ministerial Inquiry.
The findings of the $500,000 Ministerial Inquiry, headed by Sir Thomas
Eichelbaum, were released yesterday.
Mr Goff said Sir Thomas and two international experts had all independently
reached the same conclusion: that interviewing of the children who gave
evidence was appropriate and that the reliability of the evidence on which the
convictions were based was not undermined by contamination by others.
Sir Thomas' conclusion had been clear-cut and he had expressly described the
margin by which Ellis had failed as "distinct", Mr Goff said.
Parents of children involved in the case against Ellis, which ended with his
conviction on 13 charges of abusing children, were delighted by the decision.
Wellington Queen's Counsel Christie McDonald, who represented the interests
of the parents and children involved in the Ellis case during the Ministerial
Inquiry, said the repeated raising of the case had been of great concern to
them and they were relieved it was finally ended.
"The reliability of their children's evidence has been confirmed and
they are pleased with that," she said.
A parent of one of the children abused at the Christchurch Civic Creche told
The Press yesterday the findings "totally kicked arse".
"He's had a High Court trial, two appearances before the Court of
Appeal, two petitions to the Governor-General for a pardon, and now a
ministerial inquiry. He's lost all of them, so as far as we're concerned the
score-line is children six, convicted pedophile nil."
However Ellis, who was in Dunedin
with his lawyer, Judith Ablett-Kerr, QC, yesterday to await the news, vowed to
fight on.
Putting a brave face on the major setback, he said he still had plenty of
fight in him.
"When you are an innocent person and you have support from family,
friends, and fellow creche workers as well from members of the public ... you
can dig deep enough to go on."
Mrs Ablett-Kerr said she had always maintained that the inquiry terms were
too narrow to handle the doubts about the case fairly and would now push for
a wider inquiry.
One of the two experts used by Sir Thomas, Professor Graeme Davies, had
"clearly formed the view, as I had, that in order to judge whether the
evidence of the children was contaminated there needed to be a wider
inquiry".
Official avenues were becoming more difficult but there was always the Privy
Council and the Court of Human Rights in New York.
Long-time Ellis supporter Roger Keys said the group was used to setbacks and
was now putting great faith in a forthcoming book about the creche case by Dunedin author Lynley
Hood. "She may well cover what the inquiry has missed out. It will
hopefully show what really went on," he said.
Mr Goff said it would be difficult for Ellis to make a further legal bid, as
any approach to the Privy Council would have to go through the Court of
Appeal.
|
