http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,958600a1934,FF.html
"THE
PRESS"
Christchurch, New Zealand
Tuesday, 02 October 2001
Page 5
CITY POSSESSED
AGAIN BY ELLIS CASE
By RACHEL WALSH
Within hours of hitting the shelves, copies of a new book detailing
the controversial Christchurch Civic Creche case, were selling fast.
A City Possessed, by Dunedin author Lynley Hood, was released
yesterday, and is expected to open old wounds surrounding the child sexual
abuse case.
Carolyn Robertson said she had heard enough stories about the case
to be interested in reading the book.
"I'm interested to see where the author is coming from, and
if she supports Ellis."
John Wilder said he bought the book because he was convinced Peter
Ellis was innocent. "I know there's more to this case, and I'm keen to see
what the book has to say."
Ms Hood said her book would raise doubt over the abuse convictions
of the Christchurch City Council civic creche worker Peter Ellis, and reveal
systematic flaws in the justice system.
Mr Ellis was found guilty of sexually abusing children at the
creche between 1986 and 1992, and served 6 1/2 years of the 10-year jail
sentence imposed.
Police are understood to be now investigating a fresh complaint
against Ellis, from another child formerly under his care at the creche.
Ms Hood said the question of how the police, the
children-protection services, and the justice system had got it wrong had
escalated her investigation into an intensive study of New Zealand's social
history, revealing a convergence of feminism, religious conservatism, and the
child protection movement under the banner of combating child abuse.
"Once the seeds of the ritual abuse scare had dispersed into
the ether, it was probably inevitable that they would reach New Zealand. Once
they reached these shores, it was probably inevitable that they would find some
fertile imaginations in which to take root and grow."
In this climate Ms Hood said child sexual abuse became like
witchcraft in the 16th and 17th centuries, and Peter Ellis a scapegoat.
"When Mrs Magnolia (the first complainant) laid her
complaint, she sparked an inferno, because the climate was right and the wind
was blowing in the right direction.
"Anxiety over the dangers that men posed to young children
had been smouldering nationwide for more than a decade.
"In Christchurch rumours of clandestine pornography rings and
satanic cults had driven the anxiety of sexual abuse workers to fever pitch. By
the early 1990s, evil seemed everywhere."
The parent of a child at the centre of the creche case contacted
The Press yesterday to criticise the book. He said the author had become
obsessed with the case, and lost all objectivity. He did not intend to read the
book, because "we were there in court, and we know what happened".
"She's a little miss smarty pants, and she's fired some cheap
shots at us. She's simply become an apologist for a pedophile."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,958533a3845,FF.html
"OTAGO DAILY TIMES"
Dunedin, New Zealand
Tuesday, 02 October 2001
AUTHOR PLEASED WITH SUPPORT FOR BOOK
Author Lynley Hood yesterday said she had had nothing but support
so far following yesterday's release of her controversial book about convicted
child abuser Peter Ellis.
"Everybody has been extremely positive. People are saying
good on you. It's about time the truth came out," Ms Hood said at the
book's launch in Dunedin last night.
The 600-page book, A City Possessed, is the culmination of seven
years' research into the conviction of Christchurch's Civic Creche worker Peter
Ellis for sexually abusing seven young children.
Ellis was sentenced to 10 years' jail in 1993 for the crimes. Last
year, he was released from prison after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
Ellis, who always maintained his innocence, applied for a pardon.
However, this was declined after a lengthy ministerial inquiry
earlier this year found his case failed by a "distinct margin" to
prove the original conviction was unsafe.
More than 60 people were on hand last night for the launch of the
book at the University of Otago.
Ms Hood, 58, said she was delighted at the initial response.
"There hasn't been any flak at the moment. It could come, but
if I'd been worried about that I wouldn't have written the book."
Dunedin book stores reported "plenty of interest",
although one outlet believed some people might have been put off by its $59.95
price.
Graphic: BOOK DISCUSSION:
Lynley Hood discusses her book with Tony Simpson (L) and Mark Henaghan at the
launch of A City Possessed yesterday.
Otago Daily Times