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Stuff
August 25 2003
Another abuse claim against Ellis emerges
NZPA
A man who claims
he was abused by convicted paedophile Peter Ellis at Christchurch Civic
Creche feels "guilty" he did not speak out at the time, says his
mother.
The man attended the creche as a four-year-old in the mid-1980s, but did not
confide he had been abused until he was a teenager.
Ellis was convicted of child abuse at the Christchurch Civic Creche and
sentenced to 10 years' jail in 1993. He spent almost seven years in prison
and was freed in 2000.
Speaking on National Radio this morning, the man, who was not one of the
original complainants, said his family had considered prosecuting Ellis
privately.
The current high profile campaign to mount a Royal Commission of Inquiry into
Ellis' conviction was based on public misinformation, he said.
"It's on the news every week – it just rubs it in the face of the
victims."
His mother said that what "upset him the most" was that if he had
spoken out as a child, the younger children may not have been abused.
"I've told him he can't feel guilty for that."
When the family first went to police with their claims, they were told it
could not have been Ellis because he did not start working at the creche
until 1986.
The man, who wanted to be known only as Nathan, attended the creche for a
brief period at the end of 1985.
However, his mother said the police later came back to the family and
informed them "a very reliable witness" had said Ellis was
associating with creche workers at the time.
According to Dunedin
author Lynley Hood, whose book A City Possessed blames mass hysteria for the
conviction, the child complainants were "brainwashed" by parents
and psychologists.
But Nathan said he was "never part of the process".
He was "about 14" before he worked out he had been abused, and 16
before he told his parents.
However, he said he remembered Ellis' face.
He had always known there was "something wrong" with him because he
"knew things a child wasn't supposed to know".
"Even in a good family environment, it's not something you can just
bring up out of the blue."
He said it was not surprising that Ellis continued to deny that any abuse
occurred.
"I don't see how he gets on with himself."
Nathan's mother said she took him away from the creche because she suspected
there was "something untoward going on".
She described how her son would scream and hold on to the car door
"until his little knuckles went white".
She was also disturbed to see children at the creche running around naked or without
knickers, especially as her daughter's dance teacher had warned parents about
"strange people" hanging around the creche.
The boy, who had been completely toilet trained at two, started wetting his
bed again and suffering terrible nightmares.
He also complained about a "very sore penis" and a "greasy
bottom".
His parents took him to their doctor who referred them to a urologist and a
paediatrician.
"But they couldn't work out what was going on."
Abuse was "the last thing" on her mind, she said.
Nathan was about six when Ellis was charged.
His mother became suspicious when she saw him react to a picture of Ellis on
television.
However, he insisted nothing had happened, and after speaking to a social
worker and police, she took their advice to "not to bring it up"
until he volunteered the information.
The family first went to the police with Nathan's assertions about five years
ago.
However, the crown prosecutor finally told them last year that due to
"public opinion being divided", the amount of money already spent
on the case and the historical nature of the charges, police would not be
charging Ellis at this stage.
The case was left open and if any other children came forward, it could be
reactivated, she said.
The family had also consulted a solicitor about mounting a private
prosecution.
Nathan said he doubted a Royal Commission would settle the case.
"There's so much publicity and crap surrounding this thing, I don't see
how it could be a fair one, especially if some of the people who signed this
petition are on the board.
"All people have heard until this time is his side of the story... how
can you get any justice when public has got one-sided attitude?"
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