The Dominion Post
January 31, 2004
Victim's behaviour 'typical'
by Philip Kitchin
The behaviour of a Rotorua teenager who alleged that she was repeatedly raped
by two police officers but did not run for help was typical of young sexual
abuse victims, an expert says.
Sexual abuse counsellor Margaret Craig agreed to speak of her assessment of Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas -- who made the rape
allegations -- after being given permission by Mrs Nicholas to comment.
Mrs Nicholas was referred for counselling when she was 26, after telling her
doctor and family about the alleged rapes.
She alleges she was raped at her flat several times by Clint Rickards, now police assistant commissioner,
and Tauranga city councillor Brad Shipton
when she was aged about 18.
The two men would come to her flat uninvited and insist on having
"two-on-one" sex with her, ignoring her objections, she alleges.
She also says that Mr Rickards, Mr Shipton and Napier car dealer Bob Schollum
pack-raped her in a police house on one occasion in about 1986, also using a
police baton to abuse her.
All three were police officers in Rotorua at the time
of the alleged incidents.
Mrs Craig, who has an academic background in psychology and social work, said
Mrs Nicholas' failure to scream or run away was typical of a young person,
"in fact a young teenager, who had lived in a small community (Rotorua) and been victimised by persons who she was
supposed to trust and the fact that these people had a very prominent position.
"Once a person has been victimised they begin to doubt themselves . . .
she would have been lacking in confidence, completely [lacking] really, having
experienced what she described to me."
It was well established in psychological literature that sexual abuse victims
found they did not have the confidence to move.
"They are frightened," she said. "They are worried about what
people will say …. I don't see the fact that she didn't run or tell anybody as
odd at all. It's a pretty typical response, and especially for a young
teenager."
Mrs Craig said Mrs Nicholas had "stood out" as a young person who had
a lot of courage and yet wasn't sure she was doing the right thing.
"But as the process of disclosure and investigation evolved, I imagine she
began to see the absolute injustice of her situation. That it didn't matter who
she told. Nobody seemed to want to listen.
"We are not talking about a church leader or a school teacher. We are
talking about the
"I think she felt - she must have felt - completely let down by the
system, the investigative system that the police instituted in her case."