The Magazine For The
Professional Woman Of Today
Christchurch,
New Zealand
Summer 2001/2002 Issue 008
Page 5.
by Lucy di Maggio
Whenever a high-profile criminal case comes to court, we wonder: Is the person charged guilty or innocent? Will all the facts come to light? Just what is the truth anyway?
The
case that rocked Christchurch in the early'90s, the Christchurch Civic Creche case
in which staff member Peter Ellis was convicted of sexually abusing some of the
children in his care, raised huge and bitter debate.
Dunedin
author Lynley Hood, not only thought deeply about the case but went on to
devote seven years of her life to delving into it. "I have always been
fascinated by controversial issues," says Lynley, "and this one was
most controversial.
"And
when opinion is divided, as it was in this case, it raises the question, where
does the truth lie?"
Lynley's
seven-year quest for the truth culminated in her just-published book A City
Possessed: The Christchurch Civic Creche Case.
Her
search for answers took her way outside her comfort zone, she says, as she came
across layer upon layer of questionable material. "I'm not suggesting
anyone has a monopoly on the truth but there's a huge difference between lies
and self-deception and verifiable facts," says Lynley.
At
the time the Ellis case came up, Lynley was writing another book on a similarly
controversial case that had taken place in New Zealand more than 100 years
before, the Minnie Deans case, which involved a woman accused of murdering
children in her care. And what Lynley found fascinating in both these cases,
was how otherwise normal, intelligent people can believe the most bizarre and
unlikely suggestions.
"The
Minnie Deans case showed how unbalanced the scales of justice can be. A number
of urban myths grew up around her (such as 'nothing will grow on her grave')
which were also reminiscent of the witch hunts that took place in the 16th and
17th centuries.
"At
a conference I attended in Australia in 1990, the Lindy Chamberlain case was
brought up in relation to a child abuse case in the US where there were
suggestions of satanic ritual abuse, then when the creche case blew up, I
thought, 'here we go again,' " she says.
Lynley says she was aware of what the reaction would be to the allegations of child sexual abuse. "People react in an emotional way to things like that. I'm not suggesting that it's not a normal reaction, but it creates a domino effect in society and can cause what is called 'moral panic'.
"It
sets off a great anxiety, normal people get caught up in it; this is inherent
in all these kinds of cases. It becomes difficult to be dispassionate about the
innocence or guilt of the person accused."
The
phenomenon of scapegoating was also probed - "I read a lot about it"
- to determine what bearing, if any, that may have had on the creche case. But
no matter what paths she went down and how much she looked into the case,
Lynley says she couldn't find a shred of evidence that proved Peter Ellis had
done the terrible things he was accused of.
Therefore,
it became increasingly important for her to reveal her findings, through the
book, in a way that couldn't be "discredited, trivialised or
ignored".
Other
questions came up too, concerning ACC and counselling. "There was the
issue of inexperienced people diagnosing sexual abuse at the taxpayers'
expense, for example.
"It
concerned me that people who were so-called 'experts' had told the parents of
these children about the symptoms of sexual abuse, when what the children were
doing was normal behaviour, but some of the parents regarded it as evidence
that abuse had occurred."
She
likens the reaction of the parents to 'medical student syndrome' or the similar
mass psychogenic illness often connected to adolescent girls. "One faints
and they all faint."
Lynley
also drew on the expertise of other professionals including consultant
psychiatrists, lawyers, counsellors, and medical ethics people, and when, with
their help, she got the answers she was seeking, it was always clear, she says.
"I wrote the book as I went along and as I did my research, so I knew when
I got there that I had covered all the bases."
By
any calculation, it was a huge effort, and one which involved not only time and
effort, but also took its toll on her family life. "My children grew up
and left home while I was working on this book.
"My
husband had to compromise too, especially when times like holidays came around
and we had to stay home because I was working on the book.
"But
I never felt like stopping."
For
financial support during those seven years, Lynley had a grant from the Arts
Council. "I've worked it out at about 53 cents an hour," she says
with a wry chuckle.
Still,
the book is selling, as she puts it, "surprisingly well", so the
remuneration should come. But for Lynley Hood, that's not the point. "I
wanted to get to the bottom of it."
Peter Ellis has the book. He regards it as "a commission of enquiry," says Lynley. The conclusion she has come to at the end of it all is that there are flaws in the justice system that need to be addressed.
"The
credibility of the justice system in New Zealand has been undermined."
But
whether A City Possessed will prompt any action remains to be seen. The
attitude of, the Government to the case, at this point, makes that seem
unlikely.