Allegations of Sexual Abuse
	The Police Rape Inquiry
	News Reports
	NZ Herald June 19 2004 Net in police rape probe spread wide by Eugene Bingham Hundreds of people have been interviewed as part of the criminal investigation into allegations a Rotorua woman was pack-raped by police, but a decision on charges is still some way off. It is understood the three accused have not yet been interviewed even though one of them, Assistant Commissioner Clint Rickards, has been stood down from his job as Auckland Central commander since January. "The length of time between the alleged offences and now reinforces the requirement for painstaking police work to ensure an outcome that is fair to everyone involved," said a police spokesman. He said an appeal for information from the public might be made, once the active lines of investigation had been followed. About 25 police are on the case. A source said the net was being cast "extraordinarily wide". The length of the time the investigation was taking was putting a lot of strain on Mr Rickards and the two other accused, former police officers Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum, said the source. Another officer who served in the region at the time of the alleged attack, Superintendent Kelvin Powell, has also been stood down from duties. The complainant, Louise Nicholas, has alleged that she was raped and violated with a police baton at a Rotorua police house in the mid-1980s. She also says she complained about the attack but it was covered up by another senior officer.