The Herald
July 4 2003

The Ellis case
by Gordon Waugh (Whenuapai, July 2)

Sandra Coney's letter (Jul 2) reflects no more than her petrified opinion of the Ellis case and her belief in the methods by which the stories of abuse were derived.

Two simple facts underlying this case are that no physical, material or medical evidence of abuse was produced at trial, and the prosecution relied on interpretations of the children's stories by so-called "experts". How Ms Hood referenced her book "A City Possessed" is irrelevant.

The Ellis case is a copycat version of many other similar cases overseas, in which the evidence was produced by "expert interpretation" in a climate of hysteria and moral panic, but in which the convicted perpetrators have since been acquitted by impartial, reasoned examination in appellate courts. If Ms Coney can provide testable evidence to support her contention that the children were in fact abused, we would all like to see it so this matter can be put to bed.