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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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Louise Nicholas
remembers the terror and helplessness she felt when confronted by three
policemen -- including one she trusted as a family friend -- who decided they
wanted to have sex with her. In a 32-page written
statement to a depositions hearing the Rotorua woman said that as a small,
thin 18-year-old in 1985 and 1986 she felt powerless to refuse three big men
-- Clint Rickards, Brad Shipton, and Bob Schollum -- with the weight of the
law seemingly behind them. In an evidence
statement presented to the court Mrs Nicholas said she had known Schollum
from when she was a child in Murupara and he was stationed there -- "I
used to babysit his children" -- and thought she could trust him. She met Rickards and
Shipton for the first time late in 1985 when her indoor cricket team was
invited to the Rotorua police club. The contact had been
made through Trevor Clayton, a policeman stationed at Murupara who was a
friend of Mrs Nicholas' brother, Peter Crawford. Mrs Nicholas, who was
small and weighed 47 kilograms at the time, said she was "very
intimidated" by Shipton and Rickards. Shipton, in particular, was
"overpowering and seemed to be Rickards' back-up man". They both arrived
unannounced at her Corlett St flat one day, Mrs Nicholas said. "I had
not invited them ... I can't recall who brought them around. It could've been
Schollum. He knew where I lived. "He called around
a number of times to visit me ... for a coffee." After that first visit,
Shipton and Rickards started coming to her home uninvited for one reason only
-- sex. They would only come
during weekdays and always seemed to know when she was home alone, Mrs
Nicholas said. "I told them I
didn't want to have sex with them but it didn't seem to make any difference.
Neither of them took any notice of what I said. I couldn't stop them
physically because they were both so big and intimidating. They didn't use
physical force. They just made me do what they wanted." While one had
intercourse with her, the other would make her perform oral sex. "Each
time they came to the house my heart would stop as I knew what they wanted.
On one occasion I told them I was having my period but it didn't make any
difference." While Rickards always
came to the house with Shipton, the latter came there by himself "once
or twice" for sex. Mrs Nicholas believed the pair came to her home
between six and 12 times between September 1985 and December 1986. One day in January
1986, she was walking home from work when Schollum offered to give her a lift
home. She told him she was happy to walk but, when he insisted, she agreed.
"I had not had much contact (with Schollum) for some time and didn't see
him as a threat." But instead of taking
her home, Schollum took her to Shipton's Rutland St property. There she saw
Rickards and Shipton sitting on the balcony, drinking beer. "I had grave
reservations about getting out of the vehicle. I did not want to go into the
house. Schollum said to me, `It'll be all right. We won't be long, you'll be
all right.' " She went into the
kitchen with Schollum. Another man, who has never been identified, aged in
his late 30s or early 40s, was there. After refusing a drink, Mrs Nicholas
was led by Shipton into a bedroom. "I said to
Schollum and Shipton I did not want to do this. I knew there was going to be
group sex again. I was scared and there also a fourth man there." Mrs Nicholas resisted
the pair's efforts to undress her, to no avail. Despite her protests,
Schollum started having sex with her. As this was happening Rickards forced
her to perform oral sex on him. Shipton then had sex
with her as Schollum made her perform oral sex on him. Finally, Rickards had
sex with her. While all this was happening the fourth man stood in the
doorway watching. Schollum later drove
her home, Mrs Nicholas said. "As I was getting out of the car Schollum
said, `Sorry Lou.' I didn't say anything. I just walked away without looking
at him." Shipton and Rickards
continued to call around to her home after that "as though nothing had
happened" and forced her to have sex with them. "Whenever they
visited I would feel numb. I would ask them nicely not to do these things to
me. I was pathetically polite. I was like a little girl hoping they would
stop. I never gave consent ... they just took me for granted. I went along
with what they wanted because they were policemen. "I felt I had no
way of stopping them and there was nothing I could do ... the fact that they
were policemen scared the living daylights out of me ... "I had the fear
in my mind if I did not comply with their demands they had the power to put me
away. I was frightened ... I did not tell anyone else what was happening to
me." |
