|
|
Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
|
|
|
|
A woman who flatted
with Louise Nicholas around the time she alleges three policemen pack-raped
her says she witnessed consensual sex between Nicholas and two of the men -
and sometimes joined in. The woman said she and
Nicholas had sex with two of the men several times, but she does not recall
seeing Nicholas upset afterwards. She believes Nicholas would have told her
if she had been raped, but she did not. The Sunday Star-Times
has obtained a copy of the flatmate's statement, taken last February by
Auckland private investigator Mark Templeman, who was working for the
solicitors of the three men. The flatmate said she
felt the men would not have had sex with her if she had said no. However, she
said it was possible something happened to Nicholas that she was unaware of. "It is always
possible that something happened to Louise that she didn't tell me
about," the statement said. "I cannot recall any change in Louise's
demeanour, mood or attitude during this time." The woman, now 36 and
living in Australia, lived and worked with Nicholas in Rotorua around the
time of the alleged rape in 1986. The Sunday Star-Times is not naming her to
protect her privacy. Nicholas alleges she
was raped by assistant commissioner Clint Rickards and former policemen Brad
Shipton and Bob Schollum in 1986, when she was 18. They deny the allegations,
and say any sex they had with Nicholas was consensual. Nicholas has said
previously that she did not tell anyone about the alleged rape, which she
said included being violated with a police baton, for so long because she
felt no one would believe her. The flatmate's
statement says she recalls Nicholas having a sexual relationship with
Schollum, and that she and Shipton had also joined in on the sex at times. "I wasn't forced
into anything and neither was Louise," the statement said. "Louise
never said to me that she was unhappy about the sexual encounters with these
guys". The Star-Times
understands that police investigating Nicholas' claims also visited the
flatmate last year, and that police are aware of the statement she gave
Templeman. It is understood the
flatmate's statement is pivotal to the case, and is one of the reasons
delaying the decision about charging the men. Last February, Nicholas
called for a government inquiry into her claim that she was raped by the
trio. She went to the Rotorua police station in 1993 to complain about the
alleged rape, but later said she was advised by CIB chief John Dewar not to
make a written complaint. In 1995, a Police
Complaints Authority (PCA) investigation into Dewar's handling of the
complaint found the failure to record and investigate the allegations showed
a gross lack of judgment and competence – something he denies. The Star-Times has
obtained statements Schollum and Shipton made to the PCA, in which the men
admit to having sex with Nicholas and the flatmate. Both say there was never
a time when three men had sex with Nicholas or the flatmate. Schollum's statement
says he had sex about six times with Nicholas over several years. They had
sex in a tent, a car and in houses. He had threesomes with her and Shipton
several times. Schollum's statement
said he found the allegations "incredible" as he had always had a
good relationship with Nicholas, and had danced with her at her brother's
wedding in Hastings in 1993. Shipton's statement
said he got to know Nicholas through Schollum. He said he sometimes joined in
with their sexual encounters - with Nicholas' consent - and that sometimes
the flatmate was involved. He said that on another occasion, he and Rickards
had sex with Nicholas. The Star-Times reported
last year that the flatmate had told the PCA that she believed the sex
between Nicholas and the officers was consensual. Rickards' lawyer, John
Haigh QC, declined to provide a copy of his PCA statement because a decision
by police on whether they will charge the men was imminent. However, Haigh said
Rickards' statement "emphatically denied" Nicholas' allegations and
that denial was consistent with evidence Rickards gave at a 1994 trial when
he said he had consensual sex with Nicholas around 1986. Nicholas has had a
troubled past, and first complained of sexual abuse by police as a
13-year-old. Court documents from the 1990s, suppressed until last year,
showed Nicholas has made sexual assault allegations against seven officers.
One officer was tried three times during 1993 and 1994 on charges he
indecently assaulted and had sex with her when she was 15 before he was
acquitted. Meanwhile, the
Star-Times has obtained a statement by former police officer John Reynolds,
now a Tauranga businessman, about a missing baton that has been linked to the
alleged rape. Last February former
policewoman Carolyn Butcher said she was told in the mid-1980s her missing
baton had been used for sex - possibly a threesome. Reynolds has since told
police investigating Nicholas' claims that the baton was left at his place
after a police party and he returned it to Butcher later, "joking"
it was used sexually. "If she (the former policewoman) believes that the
baton that I returned to her was used in the matter involving Brad, Bob and Clint
then she is mistaken," Reynolds said. It is believed a
decision on whether charges will be laid will be made soon. Rickards,
Schollum, Shipton, Nicholas and the flatmate declined to comment. A police
spokesman would not comment because the case was an "ongoing investigation".
|
