The Evening Post
April 24, 2002
Police widen Christchurch abuse probe
NZPA
Christchurch
police are widening their investigation into the latest complaint laid
against Peter Ellis to include two other people the alleged victim claims
also abused him.
A young Christchurch
man laid a formal complaint in January 2001 alleging he was sexually abused
by Ellis and others when he was a boy at the Christchurch Civic Childcare
Centre.
The man, now 20, was not party to the original police inquiries in 1992-93
which resulted in Ellis being sentenced to 10 years' jail after his
conviction on 13 charges of abusing children in his care.
Ellis, who has always maintained his innocence, was released from prison in
February 2000 after serving seven years.
Police say they have obtained a legal opinion suggesting the similar nature
of the allegations made the possibility of fresh charges being laid against
Ellis unlikely, given the fact that he had already served a sentence.
Police child abuse unit manager Detective Sergeant Chris Power said police
were guided by that legal opinion, but other people might be criminally
liable in the case.
"He (the alleged victim) has alleged that two others were
involved," said Mr Power. "An important part of our investigation
will be establishing their identity."
Mr Power said once inquiries were completed, the unit would make a
recommendation to police managers about whether to proceed with action
against any other individual.
The family of the 20-year-old, who recently married, have been advised by
police not to comment.
Kathryn Johnston, co-ordinator of the Support Network for Parents and
Caregivers of Sexually Abused Children, who is supporting the family, said
they were frustrated over the time the case was taking.
"They are trying to be patient. They have been reassured that there is
an ongoing process, but it is obviously an incredibly slow one," she
said.
Dunedin author
Lynley Hood, whose book A City Possessed called into question the safety of
Ellis' convictions, said it was time for police to "put up or shut
up".
"All this innuendo is just sleaze tactics on the part of the
police," she said.
"Isn't it about time they responded to the issues raised in A City
Possessed, instead of trying this underhand way of reviving the case?"
The book said that "moral panic" and parental hysteria led to Ellis
being jailed.
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