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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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Assistant Police
Commissioner Clint Rickards wore his police uniform on the first day of his
trial for the rape of a Rotorua teenager, Louise Nicholas. Some 20 years after the
alleged sexual abuse, he stood in the dock of the High Court in Auckland as
the indictment outlining charges against him was read. He answered each
charge in a clear, strong voice: "Not guilty." His plea was echoed
by two former police officers, Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum, standing in the
dock next to him. The trio face a total
of 20 sex charges based on complaints by Ms Nicholas, who says she was
sexually abused as an 18-year-old in 1985 and 1986, when the men were all
police officers based in Rotorua. The men are accused of
raping her on various occasions, including one incident in which the three
are alleged to have all been involved in a rape and an indecent assault where
a police baton was inserted into Louise Nicholas' vagina and anus. Shipton and Rickards
face representative charges for forced intercourse and oral sex alleged to
have occurred before the baton incident. The three-week trial,
in the Auckland High Court, is expected to get properly under way today, with
prosecutor Brent Stanaway outlining the Crown's case in more detail. The prosecution plans
to call between 40 and 45 witnesses. A jury comprising five
men and seven women was selected yesterday but no evidence was presented
because pre-trial legal matters had yet to be heard. Wide-ranging
suppression orders preventing discussion of the case in the media were lifted
yesterday, though Justice Tony Randerson made orders preventing the
publication of some evidence to be called in the coming weeks. Queens Counsels John
Haigh and Paul Mabey are representing Rickards and Schollum, and Bill Nabney
is representing Shipton. Individual charges are:
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Clinton John Tukotahi Rickards faces a total of eight
counts, two of rape, four of indecent assault and sexual violation by
unlawful sexual connection. ·
Bradley Keith Shipton faces seven counts, two of rape,
sexual violation, three counts of indecent assault and sexual violation by
unlawful sexual connection. ·
Robert Francis Schollum faces one count of rape and four
counts of indecent assault. |
