Otago Daily Times
October 1, 2001

Hopes of new material in book on Ellis
by Joanna Norris

Convicted child-abuser Peter Ellis had been cautiously looking forward to the release today of a book investigating his case and was hopeful his name could be cleared, his lawyer said last night.

The debate on the conviction of Ellis for sexually abusing seven children is expected to once again gain momentum today, when the book on his case by Dunedin author Lynley Hood hits booksellers' shelves.

Ellis was sentenced to 10 years jail in 1993 for sexually abusing the children while he worked at Christchurch's Civic Creche. Last year, he was released from prison after serving two-thirds of his sentence. A ministerial inquiry into the conviction was conducted earlier this year and former chief justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum found it had not been proved the original conviction was unsafe.

Ms Hood (58) has been researching the case for seven years and in her 600-page book, A City Possessed, she points to evidence of Ellis' innocence.

Last night, Ellis' lawyer, Judith Ablett-Kerr QC, said she hoped the research had uncovered new material.

"I think the ideal outcome is that his name is cleared," she said.

"The question is what steps are left open to him to clear his name. We are waiting to see what material is in the book.

"The Ellis case has been on hold waiting for the book to come out. He's been looking forward to it for some time, but Peter Ellis is fairly cautious. He's had his hopes up before."

Mrs Ablett-Kerr said it was possible the book covered some of the same evidence submitted in petitions to the High Court, but she was also hopeful new material would emerge.

"It's very much Lynley Hood's book . . . what she has done is independent to what I have done."

Christchurch police spokeswoman Maggie Leask would not comment on whether police would be taking the book's findings seriously.

"We have no comment because we have not seen a copy of the book," she said.

Justice Minister Phil Goff was unavailable for comment last night.