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Wellington: One of New
Zealand’s highest ranking police officers and two former policemen appeared
in court yesterday on unspecified charges. Assistant Commissioner Clinton
John Rickards appeared in the Auckland District Court in relation to
allegations made by Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas. The nature and number
of those charges were suppressed by Judge Simon Lockhart, but they relate to
historic offences, allegedly committed when Mrs Nicholas was a teenager. Two co-accused, former
policemen Robert Francis Schollum (52) and Bradley Keith Shipton (46)
appeared in the Tauranga District Court. However, all details of
the charges against the two, including their number and nature, were
suppressed by Judge Russell Callender. Rickards, who has been
on suspension, on full pay, for the past 14 months since the investigation
started, entered no plea in relation to the allegations. Rickards appeared for
the 10-minute hearing wearing a dark suit. He remained silent throughout the
hearing, looking straight ahead while in the dock. Lawyer John Haigh QC
said Rickards would vigorously defend the charges. Rickards was remanded on
bail to a pre-depositions hearing in Rotorua District Court next month Regular police
prosecutors did not handle Rickards’ first appearance. Crown prosecutor Brent
Stanaway, of Christchurch, handled the prosecution. He did not oppose the
suppression orders. Bail conditions for the
men included handing over their passports, and not contacting the complainant
or other Crown witnesses. In Tauranga, Shipton
was represented by Bill Nabney while Paul Mabey QC appeared on behalf of
Schollum. Outside the court, Mr
Mabey said Schollum “absolutely denied” the charges relating to Louise
Nicholas. Mr Mabey said he would
be considering applying for a stay of prosecution Mr Nabney said Shipton
was “obviously disappointed” to have been charged but was pleased the matters
were now before the court. He said he was “going
to have to look at the issue more closely” regarding his client’s ability to
get a fair trial. Canterbury University
media law expert Prof John Burrows said the suppression orders imposed at the
men’s appearance were unusual, as it was usually the name of the accused that
was suppressed. However, Prof Burrows
said any decision on suppression was made only after careful consideration. “The judge has had
everything explained to him. It is based on the information he has got.” The prosecution, though
only at a first-appearance stage, looks likely to be New Zealand’s most
expensive, with a January estimate putting the cost at more than $6 million. Media reports have said
wages of police involved in the inquiry, including Rickards’ pay of an
estimated $200,000 while on suspension, totalled at least $2 million, while
almost $1.1 million had been spent on travel and accommodation. The
commission of inquiry set up to consider Mrs Nicholas’ allegations had a
budget of $3 million. |
