Otago Daily Times
Febuary 2, 2004

Policeman denies rape case cover-up Auckland commander accused

Wellington: The former senior police officer accused of covering up a rape complaint against colleagues denies claims he manipulated the young complainant or acted "incompetently".

Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas has claimed three officers - including Auckland police commander Assistant Commissioner Clint Rickards - pack-raped her and violated her with a police baton in a Rotorua house in 1986.

Louise Nicholas, who was 18 at the time, alleges her original complaint in 1993 was not properly investigated.

In an article published in The Dominion Post on Saturday, Mrs Nicholas alleged Mr Rickards, along with two men who have since left the police force - Tauranga city councillor Brad Shipton and Napier car dealer Bob Schollum - raped her in the presence of a fourth man.

All three accused vigorously deny the accusations. Mr Rickards, who has taken three weeks of voluntary leave, has welcomed news of a new inquiry and pledged to co-operate fully with it.

In an earlier investigation, the men admitted having sex with the teenager but claimed it was "consensual".

Mrs Nicholas said she was too frightened to go to the police with her complaint for seven years and now she believes the subsequent investigation was flawed.

She said she was "played like a puppet" by Detective Inspector John Dewar, head of Rotorua CIB at the time, who was supposed to be investigating her complaint.

An inquiry by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) two years later was allegedly compromised because she still believed the investigating officer was her "friend" and she concealed the whole truth to protect him.

Footage taken by a hidden camera and broadcast on One News on Saturday night showed Mr Dewar admitting to Mrs Nicholas that he knew at least some of the physical contact between her and the three men was without her consent.

Mr Dewar, who now works with the St John ambulance service in Hamilton, said yesterday the allegations in the media were distorting the facts of the case and he was seeking legal advice.

He said he welcomed the new investigation and would co-operate fully.

"There was no coaxing, no persuasion. She [Mrs Nicholas] made informed choices and had counselling. I liaised closely with her. If that is moulding then I am guilty of moulding . . .

"She knew and understood what her options were."

Detective Chief Inspector Rex Miller, who headed the PCA investigation in 1995, told The Dominion Post Mrs Nicholas had been "moulded like play dough" into not making a complaint.