Otago Daily Times
July 12, 2003

Peter Ellis
Letter to the Editor
by Mel Tapp, (Balclutha)

I see Suzanne George is once again expressing her nonsense about the Peter Ellis case in your columns. I commend Barry Colman in his efforts to find further information to get an inquiry into Ellis's conviction. One only has to look at the notable people who have lent their name to the petition to see their is much concern about this case.

I was amazed to see Ms George bring up the old bogey of the alleged sex rings operating in Dunedin and Christchurch. They have been long discredited. But they led to the mass hysteria that in turn led to the Christchurch creche case. I note she never mentions the fact that three women were also charged in this case and were rightly found innocent and compensated, leaving Peter Ellis for the police to pursue with great tenacity to get a conviction.

In the same issue of the ODT was an article headed: "Male teaching reticence sad principal says;" this pointed to male teachers making up only 13.6% of classroom teachers, and said it was found that anxiety about physical contact with children was the main reason they avoid the profession. I know of many fathers and grandfathers that are also concerned about this also and this is a tragedy.

Perhaps Ms George should forget about the Peter Ellis case and concentrate on why so many mothers are neglecting and injuring their babies - leading to many painful deaths of