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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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Defence lawyers for the
three men accused of raping Louise Nicholas and abusing her with the police
baton say the incident did not happen. The trial of Assistant
Commissioner Clint Rickards and two former Police colleagues is continuing in
Auckland. Rickards (who was not wearing his police uniform in court today)
and former policemen Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum face a total of 20
charges. In their opening
statements, the trio's defence lawyers have all said that the incidents
Louise Nicholas alleges took place in a Rotorua house in 1986 simply did not
occur. Crown Prosecutor Mark
Zarifeh claimed Shipton abused the then-18-year-old complainant twice with a
police baton while the others looked on. Mrs Nicholas is due to
take the stand this afternoon in the High Court and will tell the court that
when she was a slightly-built teenager in Rotorua, Rickards and Shipton used
their physical size to repeatedly intimidate her into having sex with them. She will also tell the
court that at a police house rented by Shipton, that he, Rickards and fellow
officer at the time Bob Schollum each raped her and forced her to perform
oral sex |
