"CHRISTCHURCH STAR"

Christchurch, New Zealand

Wednesday, October 3, 2001

Front Page

OUTSIDER NEEDS TO REVIEW CASE, SAYS LYNLEY HOOD

Stacey Doornenbal reported:

The author of a controversial book on the Christchurch Civic Creche child sex abuse case is calling for an overseas expert to carry out a major independent review of the country’s justice system.

Lynley Hood, author of A City Possessed, said her research into the charging and conviction of creche worker Peter Ellis for abuse had uncovered major systemic flaws which urgently needed to be addressed.

The Dunedin mother and grandmother said an overseas expert should be brought in to carry out the inquiry.

“In the Arthur Allan Thomas case an Australian judge was brought in to lead the commission of inquiry and this case is far, far bigger than that one.

“An inquiry would have to involve people from outside the country.”

Ms Hood said she identified three major flaws in the justice system while conducting her research.

She said the methods used to distinguish between true and false abuse allegations were unreliable; secondly, law changes made it easier to convict on unreliable evidence; and thirdly, there was an unwillingness by the justice system to admit to, and correct, mistakes.

Ms Hood dismissed a previous report into the case by former Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum as being “deeply flawed”.

Ms Hood said she was “repeatedly shocked” at what she uncovered during her research.

“I kept looking for the basis of the different allegations, particularly the allegations he (Peter Ellis) was convicted on, and the harder I looked at them the more they evaporated into thin air. They had no substance.”

Ms Hood said what she did find was a huge amount of evidence of prejudice, disillusion and major problems with the way child abuse was investigated in this country and with the justice system as a whole.

She said the case went as far as it did on unsubstantiated allegations “because the conditions were right”.

“It ultimately goes back to the belief deep in the fabric of New Zealand society that even the most decent of men are hardened sexual predators that should not be trusted around children and women and in society.

“It’s this demonisation of gender which makes it more likely that unsubstantiated allegations would be believed and acted on.”

Ms Hood said she was prepared for any backlash directed towards her.

“I wouldn’t have written the book if I wasn’t prepared for whatever happens.”

A City Possessed - The Christchurch Civic Creche Case, by Lynley Hood, is in book stores from this week.

Graphics: (1) 'Author Lynley Hood'

(2) (Martin Woodhall): 'Beth Davies, of Easts Boooks on High, checks on a copy of the controversial new book. Local sales of A City Possessed are reported to be strong, according to booksellers. “We had people on the doorstep at 9am Monday wanting the book,” said Julian Glass, co-owner of Easts. “Given what it is, and its price of $59.95 [high for NZ], sales are strong. Whitcoulls also reported “very steady sales”.'