The Christchurch Civic Creche Case
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	Newstalk ZB January 29 2008; 07:12 Ellis' lawyers want Royal Commission of Inquiry The lawyers for convicted child abuser Peter Ellis want a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the case. Peter Ellis was convicted of more than a dozen charges of sexually abusing children at the Christchurch Civic Creche in the early 1990s. He served two thirds of his 10 year jail sentence but has always maintained his innocence. His lawyers say two recent studies into the convictions and a subsequent ministerial inquiry have strengthened their case. The most recent, a study by Otago University professor Harlene Hayne, claims the interviewing techniques used on the children in Peter Ellis's case were much worse than those used in a similar case in America which was subsequently overturned. Ellis's lawyer Judith Ablett-Kerr has sent a letter to Justice Minister Annette King calling for the Royal Commission. She is also working on a petition to take the case to the Privy Council.