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Former Christchurch Civic Creche worker Peter Ellis' quest to clear his name is not
over yet. This week, his case is back on the
agenda of the Justice and Electoral Committee – after months of dormancy. A decade has passed since Ellis
was convicted of 13 charges of indecent assault relating to children formerly
in his care, and sentenced to 10 years in jail. And still, three years after his
early release, he and supporters are battling to prove his innocence. City central MP Tim Barnett, who
chairs the select committee, said Ellis' case had been superseded by
legislative matters recently. "We have been busy with Civil
Union hearings for the last couple of months, the Care of Children Bill, the
Lawyers and Conveyances Act… This isn't a legal process, but a discussion
between people so it will take a little longer," he said. Ellis' lawyer, Judith Ablett-Kerr
QC was frustrated by the drawn-out process. "I think I can say that it is
taking an extraordinarily long time to resolve, and both Peter and I are at a
loss to understand why. The wheels of justice are slow to run, but this is
quite beyond our understanding – as is the fact that the committee have not
seen fit to invite Peter Ellis to contribute submissions on the
petition," she said. The committee is investigating a
submission made by author Lynley Hood, which calls for a Royal Commission of
Inquiry into the case. Hood wrote A City Possessed in 2002, which questions
Ellis' conviction and judicial handling of the matter. The submission was based on
matters Hood discussed in her book, and was backed up by a petition, signed
by about 140 high profile New Zealanders, including lawyers and politicians. If the committee finds cause to do
so, it may recommend a Royal Commission of Inquiry, although it does not have
the jurisdiction to initiate one. Ablett-Kerr said she and Ellis
were concerned Ellis had not been invited to make a submission. Barnett responded that no
submissions, outside of those from Hood and the Ministry of Justice, had been
called for yet. "That's one issue we would
obviously look at. We are debating around how wide the scope will be. We did
contact Peter Ellis to see whether he supported the petition and he indicated
that he did," he said. Barnett conceded the select
committee process was a lengthy one. "It would be nice to have
more time, but we only have three hours a week. I can understand their
frustration… it would be lovely if we could meet three days a week," he
said. Barnett said this week's meeting
would establish where the committee would go from here, and would not be
drawn on specifics. Ellis was convicted of 16 of 25
charges of indecent assault relating to Civic Creche
children in June of 1993. The Court of Appeal quashed three
of those convictions, but upheld the jail term. Four of Ellis' co-workers –
Deborah Gillespie, Gaye Davidson, Marie Keys and Jan Buckingham – were
arrested on indecency charges relating to children in their care in October
1992. All four were discharged by April 1993 |
