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NZ Herald
March 16 2001
1999 report into Ellis case called for further investigation
A retired High Court judge called for further investigation into the case of
convicted paedophile Peter Ellis in a report written for the Ministry of
Justice in 1999.
Sir Thomas Thorp's report, released by Justice Minister Phil Goff today, said
the two petitions filed on behalf of Ellis raised a "considerable number
of issues sufficiently to point to a need for further investigation."
But it was inappropriate to express any firm view on whether Ellis should be
pardoned at that time, nor should a pardon be considered while his case was
before the Appeal Court,
Sir Thomas said.
Mr Goff said yesterday that despite media claims that Sir Thomas resulting
40-page report was "secret", it had been made available to Ellis'
lawyers, the Court of Appeal, Crown Law and former Chief Justice Sir Thomas
Eichelbaum before Ellis' second Court of Appeal bid in 1999.
However it was not made public because the case was the subject of a judicial
inquiry.
Mr Goff said it was important to note the Thorp report was based on different
and more limited material than the Eichelbaum report released this week.
In 1993, Ellis was found guilty of 16 charges of sexual abuse against
children at the Christchurch Civic Crèche. He was sentenced to ten years
imprisonment and after serving two-thirds of his sentence was released in
February last year.
His bid to prove his innocence has seen him go through two petitions for a
pardon and two hearings before the Court of Appeal.
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