The Press
June 10 2003
Quotes
by Geoff Collett
The Peter
Ellis case has prompted more scrutiny, debate, and speculation than most in New
Zealand's legal history. Yet 10 years after his convictions on sex abuse
charges involving children at a
It might be expected that the hundreds of thousands of words, three court
hearings, four petitions seeking his pardon, and numerous other campaigns
around the very strange case of Peter Ellis would have worn out most people's
patience and interest in the case by now.
Yet 10 years to the week since Ellis' conviction in a case which has attracted
about as much debate, scrutiny, re-litigation, and speculation as any in this
country's legal history, it seems the enthusiasm for his cause is not flagging,
but attracting more impetus than ever.
What is especially remarkable about the latest campaign to clear Ellis' name of
his paedophilia convictions is that lining up behind this most unconventional
character are various of the most formidable pillars
of
Ellis should hardly need any introduction, certainly not in
Ellis, a worker at the creche, was suspended in late
1991, then arrested after children there made
complaints that he had sexually abused them.
Numerous now infamous allegations emerged of what happened to creche children, such as being sexually violated with
needles, involved in bizarre and violent sexual rituals, forced to drink urine,
defecated on, and much more.
Much was made of Ellis' sexual banter and his bi- sexuality, his behaviour
towards children, and his drinking habits at the time.
Disbelievers claimed the stories were figments of young children's
imaginations, that the whole case was mass hysteria stoked by and catching up
well- meaning but seriously misguided adults (parents, police, lawyers, judges,
social workers).
The torrent of claims implicated other creche workers
and tore the fabric of the
He was in effect found to have urinated on children, put his penis in their
mouths and against their private parts, and taken them to locations where
indecencies were performed on them.
He told The Press shortly before a High Court jury found him guilty on 16
charges (three of which were later overturned after the complainant said she
had lied): "Since 1991 I have on every available opportunity denied the
charges and will continue to do so until the day I die."
Whatever is made of Ellis, nobody could deny that he has lived up to that
promise. He reinforced his determination by refusing to attend parole hearings
which could have secured him early release from prison, because he felt to do
so would be an admission of guilt.
But it is the words of others, most notably 230,000 of them penned by the
Assessments of Hood's 2001 book, A City Possessed, vary depending on which side
of the argument the critic comes from, but few if any have denied it is a
compelling and formidable tome -- it won one of the country's top literary
awards last year.
Hood has long maintained that she was never a crusader for Ellis, but her seven
years of study of the civic creche case convinced her
that the justice system had gone badly awry; that not only was the safety of
Ellis' convictions in doubt, but so were checks and balances in the justice
system which, in her words, had never properly scrutinised its own shortcomings
in the case. Such doubts are apparently the central if not sole reason for the
dozens of esteemed New Zealanders who have agreed to add their name to the
latest call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the creche
case.
Hood has actively lobbied and campaigned for more support for and recognition
of her conclusions, and has reported receiving hundreds of letters of support.
Former Reserve Bank governor and now National MP Don Brash is leading the
campaign to gather signatures for the petition before it is presented to
Parliament -- probably before the end of this month -- in the hope that it will
be referred on for consideration by a select committee, and ultimately force
the long-demanded royal commission.
He says he was compelled to act after reading the book; so was his caucus
colleague and Hood's fellow Dunedin-ite, Katherine
Rich, who is helping round up signatories, focusing on the respected and the
eminent.
They want to get 100 such names to present to Parliament and say they are
three-quarters of the way there.
Their approach is broad, asking for the royal commission to enquire into all
aspects of the creche investigation and legal processes, and to be run by non-
There is also an army of Ellis' detractors and those convinced of his guilt,
and many who remain distressed that the case refuses to go away so the children
(now teenagers) can get on with their lives.
Hood herself acknowledged the desirability (although not the likelihood) of
achieving that closure -- her perspective expressed in one interview yesterday
is that those victims, "deserve to know the truth and to go forward into
adulthood with the whole thing sorted".
Peter Ellis – A Case History
June 1993 -- Peter Ellis found
guilty of 16 of 25 charges of abusing children in his care at the Christchurch
Civic Creche, and sentenced to 10 years jail.
September 1994 -- Court of Appeal
rejects Ellis' first appeal, but quashes three convictions after one of the
child complainants says she lied.
June 1995 -- Government rejects the
first formal call for an independent inquiry.
July 1996 -- Trust formed with the
backing of several
December 1997 -- Ellis' lawyer,
Judith Ablett-Kerr QC (who took up his case after his
conviction), files her first petition seeking a pardon or rehearing of Ellis'
case with the Governor-General, Sir Michael Hardie
Boys.
March 1998 -- Sir Michael refers the
case back to the Court of Appeal.
June 1998 --The
November 1998 -- Ablett-Kerr
announces a second petition to the Governor-General seeking a Royal Commission
of Inquiry into the whole case.
May 1999 -- Sir Michael turns down
the second petition, but agrees to widen the terms of the case which can be
referred to the
July 1999 --Court of Appeal hearing
opens.
September 1999 -- Ellis' mother,
Lesley, travels to Parliament to deliver a personal request for a Royal Commission
of Inquiry.
October 1999 -- The
February 2000 -- Ellis released from
prison after serving the mandatory two-thirds of his sentence.
March 2000 -- Justice Minister Phil
Goff announces a ministerial inquiry into the case, headed by former Chief
Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum, focused on the
reliability of evidence given by children in the trial.
March 2001 -- Sir Thomas' findings
are released, concluding that issues around the evidence against Ellis were
handled properly and Ellis' case for pardon had failed.
October 2001 -- Lynley Hood's book,
A City Possessed, published, prompting a wave of fresh concern about the case.
July 2002 -- Phil Goff receives a
briefing paper from his officials on Hood's book, concluding that there is
nothing in it to alter the conclusions of Eichelbaum's
inquiry.
June 2003 -- Fourth petition,
seeking a royal commission, is launched.
Quotes
Peter Ellis' mother, Lesley, after
delivering her personal request for a royal commission, in September 1999:
"There are just too many concerns about a range of Government departments. It's not just the
police. It's the Education Department, ACC, Social Welfare, and the whole
Justice Department which have to be questioned."
~~~~~~~~
Ellis at the end of his jail term:
"Just because I've been released from prison, the fight to clear my name
does not stop. It goes on and I do not intend to stop until my name is cleared
and the truth is out for everyone's sake, including the children."
~~~~~~~~
A parent of one of the abused children after Sir Thomas Eichelbaum
threw out Ellis' case for a pardon:
"He's had a High Court trial, two appearances before the Court of Appeal,
two petitions to the Governor-General for a pardon, and now a ministerial
inquiry. He's lost all of them, so as far as we're concerned the scoreline is children six, convicted paedophile nil."
~~~~~~~~
Bob Hardie, a
former police investigator now involved in a pie business, in September 2001:
"When you're out there selling pies people still ask, `so is he guilty?'
and I still answer `yes, I'm satisfied justice was done'."
~~~~~~~~
Lynley Hood, at the time of her book's
release:
"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."
~~~~~~~~
One of the creche
children's parents on Hood's book:
"She's a little miss smarty pants, and she's
fired some cheap shots at us. She's simply become an apologist for a
paedophile."
~~~~~~~~
Peter Ellis, on the book:
"What Lynley Hood has done is present the Government with a royal
commission report at no cost to the taxpayer."
~~~~~~~~