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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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One of the accused men
is now Assistant Police Commissioner Clint Rickards, but he and two others
were all serving policemen in Rotorua when Louise Nicholas said they used
their physical size and the fact they were policemen to intimidate her into
having sex. Crown prosecutor Mark
Zarifeh told the jury in the High Court at Auckland Louise Nicholas never
consented to sex but when she told the three men that, it made no difference.
She was intimidated by
their large stature and that they were police officers. The three men -
Rickards, Bradley Keith Shipton, and Robert Francis Schollum - face 20
charges of rape and sexual abuse including the use of a police baton. They
deny the charges. Mr Zarifeh told the
court in his opening address today the men used their size and overbearing
manner to prevent resistance. He said during one
session she was taken into the bedroom by all three men but she knew what was
going to happen and told them she did not want to do it. "By this time she
was very scared," Mr Zarifeh said. The court heard graphic
details of the alleged sexual activity. As one man had intercourse with her,
another had oral sex. After Rickards had
finished and got off the bed she saw Shipton holding a police baton and a jar
of vaseline. "She reacted in
fear, swearing at them and telling them there was no way they were going to
use that on her," Mr Zarifeh said. She was crying as
Shipton inserted the baton into her vagina which was very painful. One of the accused men
then turned her over and the baton was pushed into her anus. It was extremely
painful. "She was crying
out," Mr Zarifeh said. She then heard Schollum
say "that's enough" and he told her to have a shower. Schollum took her home
and as she got out of the car he apologised. One of the first
prosecution witnesses is likely to be Louise Nicholas. The trial is expected
to last three weeks. |
