Peter Ellis Org
: Seeking Justice for Peter Ellis
The
Ecpat NZ Inc.
End child prostitution pornography and trafficking
March 2001
Peter Ellis: guilty or not?
Denise Ritchie, National Coordinator/Barrister
The controversy
surrounding this case is like few others, and continues. For almost 10 years
debate has raged; most people have a view.
Last February Minister of Justice Phil Goff announced a ministerial inquiry to
identify current best practice for investigating mass allegations in sexual
abuse cases and to further determine whether they had been followed in the
Ellis case.
This week Sir Thomas Eichelbaum’s report finds no grounds to set aside Ellis’
convictions, vindicating the testimony of children and professionals at the
heart of the case.
Whatever your view, ECPAT points out that Peter Ellis has had more
investigation into his convictions than probably any other person in our
criminal law history.
To date:
o
a
jury unanimously found him guilty beyond
reasonable doubt
o
the
trial Judge supported the jury’s decision
o
in
two separate Court of Appeal decisions, seven Justices unanimously upheld the
guilty verdict
o
former
Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum found no grounds to set aside the
convictions
o
two world experts from
ECPAT notes that the children’s testimonies have been continuously upheld
despite most rigorous probing over 10 years at the highest criminal law level.