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The Press
August 26 2003
Ellis sees lawyer over fresh claims
By Yvonne Martin
Former creche worker Peter Ellis is consulting his
lawyer over claims by a man who alleges he was abused by Ellis in the
mid-1980s.
Nathan, who wants to be known by his first name only, briefly attended the
Christchurch Civic Creche as a four-year-old in late 1985.
He said he twigged there was something wrong with him because he "knew
things a child wasn't supposed to know".
Nathan's mother said she removed him from the creche because he was unhappy
and she suspected there was "something untoward going on".
Ellis is consulting his lawyer, Judith Ablett-Kerr, QC, over the claims.
Nathan was not involved in the trial in which Ellis was convicted of
molesting children in his care in 1993 and sentenced to 10 years' jail.
The police investigated Nathan's complaint – laid more then two years ago –
and decided against any further action on legal advice.
Nathan's allegations follow two complainants, Katrina and Tom (not their real
names) reaffirming Ellis' guilt in The Press 10 days ago.
Nathan said the Ellis case was in the news every week: "it just rubs it
in the face of the victims".
He became aware that he was different from other teenagers aged 14, but did
not tell his parents about the allegations until two years later.
"I just asked her if she remembered me going to the creche and that
something had happened. I never went into detail with her ... until quite a
bit later," he said.
Nathan's mother said she withdrew him from the creche because of his
distressed state. He would scream and hold on to the car door "until his
little knuckles went white".
"While he was at the creche he started having nightmares. He would wake
up in the middle of the night screaming and complaining that he had a greasy
bottom," she said.
Abuse "was the last thing" on her mind, she said.
The family first went to the police with Nathan's assertions about five years
ago. He laid an official complaint of sexual abuse in January 2001.
Nathan's mother said police initially told them it could not have been Ellis
because he was not employed at the creche then.
But police had later come back to the family and informed them a "very
reliable witness" had said Ellis was associating with creche workers at
the time, she said.
Police child abuse unit manager Detective Sergeant Chris Power said the
police got advice from the Invercargill Crown solicitor before deciding not
to proceed with Nathan's complaint in mid-2002. The similar nature of the
allegations made the possibility of fresh charges being laid against Ellis
unlikely, he said.
The advice was later ratified by the Crown Law Office in Wellington, he said.
A former supervisor of the creche, Gaye Davidson, said workers first met
Ellis in August 1986. "We never knew the man existed prior to that. It
is unbelievable what is coming out. It is like madness all happening
again."
Ms Davidson could not remember Nathan at the creche and could not find his
name in her records yesterday.
Outgoing Children's Commissioner Roger McClay backed Nathan yesterday. He
first met Nathan in Christchurch
soon after Ellis' release from prison in 2000 and had kept in phone contact
with him.
"I thought Nathan was an outstanding young man when I met him. Very
brave."
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