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The
Dominion Post
August 22, 2003
`Bizarre behaviour' in creche children
A child behavioural worker says she spotted bizarre behaviour trends in
Christchurch Civic Creche children well before creche worker Peter Ellis was
arrested for abuse.
Judy Berger says she worked with 11 former creche children once they reached
school age -- none of whom testified in the Ellis trial.
All displayed symptoms of sexual abuse, including a fear of going to the
toilet and being scared of their birthdays because they claimed Ellis had
said their penises would burst into flames on their birthdays "if they
told".
Ellis was convicted of child abuse at the creche and sentenced to 10 years'
jail in 1993. He spent almost seven years in prison. Calls are growing for a
commission of inquiry into the case.
But Mrs Berger says the children she dealt with bore scars of abuse that
"could not be made up".
"Most of them had a problem going to the toilet and also with eating. I
remember one little boy would only go into the toilets as far as the
hand-basin and would pee in that because he was too scared to go any further.
Most of them would put food in their mouths and just hold it there, not
swallowing.
"I was most puzzled by these kids because they all had nice parents, and
older siblings who weren't troubled. The common denominator was they had all
been through the creche."
She was so concerned she rang the police and told them of her finding. The
detective she spoke to said police were aware of "a case brewing"
but had not talked to all the parents.
She had not spoken publicly about the case till now because of
confidentiality clauses in her past job, she said.
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