http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,956948a1561,FF.html

"THE PRESS"

Christchurch, New Zealand.

Monday, 01 October 2001

Front Page

WRITER READY FOR BACKLASH

By JARROD BOOKER

Lynley Hood is bracing herself for an angry backlash as her controversial book on the Christchurch civic creche sex abuse case hits the shelves today.

The Dunedin author said that her findings, documented in A City Possessed, would raise serious doubt over the abuse convictions of creche worker Peter Ellis and the workings of the justice system as a whole.

Families of the children at the centre of the creche case have been warned about the book's content and Hood fully expects a strong reaction from them.

"But I wouldn't have written the book if I was worried about that," she said last night.

"I was leant on from all directions not to write the book, but having found what I found, it would have been moral cowardice not to do so. I think even the children themselves should read it – they are old enough now."

Hood accepted that many people would never agree with her views, but "it's out of my hands".

"I'm going to leave it to people to make up their own minds, but I haven't found a shred of evidence of guilt."

Hood said her book would reveal three serious systemic flaws in the justice system.

"Firstly, the methods used to investigate child abuse allegations can't distinguish between true and false allegations," she said. "At the next level, the law changes of 1989 make it much easier to convict people on unreliable evidence, and thirdly I found an unwillingness by the justice system to correct what it had done wrong."

Mr Ellis, who has always maintained his innocence, plans to buy a copy of the book today, read it, and take "advice from there".

He said what he had seen of the book's content so far was positive, but he needed to read through it to see what it would mean for his campaign.

"I see it as a small part of the whole," he said last night.

"But I don't really know what's in it yet. You wouldn't let people know all of the juiciest bits before it was published, otherwise people wouldn't go out and buy it. So I don't know what could be lurking in there. But if (Hood) has done her research, I have nothing to fear."

Mr Ellis said he still received numerous letters from people around New Zealand claiming they had been wrongfully convicted of child abuse.

"You have to press on with your case, or you let down an awful lot of supporters and people who have concerns about high-profile cases."

Mr Ellis is now urging Prime Minister Helen Clark to step in and look at his case.

"The time has come where the Prime Minister has to take a leaf out of her predecessor Robert Muldoon's book and order a pardon and a Royal Commission of Inquiry into my case."

Meanwhile, Mr Ellis has refused to comment on police investigations into a fresh sex abuse allegation against him, saying it was in the hands of his lawyers.