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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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The men accused of
raping Louise Nicholas told investigators that the 18-year-old enjoyed casual
sex encounters and was keen to experiment with group sex. In May 1995, senior
police officers were given the task of confronting Clinton Rickards, Bradley
Shipton and Robert Schollum – all policemen at the time – with allegations
they had raped and abused Mrs Nicholas in Rotorua in 1985 and 1986. The three
investigators, now retired, were called as prosecution witnesses yesterday in
the trial in the High Court at Auckland and read transcripts to the jury. Rickards, now aged 45,
Shipton, 47, and Schollum, 53, were arrested after the allegations were
reinvestigated in 2004 and face a total of 20 charges. Yesterday the court was
told that in 1995 the accused – who were interviewed in different cities –
flatly denied forcing Mrs Nicholas to have sex or abusing her with a police
baton, describing her claims as "incredible",
"embarrassing" and "bizarre". Shipton told
investigator Barry Hunter that Mrs Nicholas had primarily had a casual sexual
relationship with Schollum while he and Schollum – both separated from their
wives – were living in a police house in Rutland St. "She'd turn up out
of the blue, have coffee and then Bob would have sex with her." On a few occasions
Shipton had joined them in a threesome, after discussion, and it was a matter
of sexual exploration, but was not a situation of which he was proud. There
was also one threesome with Rickards. Shipton said he had not
had sex with Mrs Nicholas at her Corlett St flat, though he had sex with her
flatmate, whose name he could not recall. The investigator asked
how Shipton knew Mrs Nicholas was enjoying sex. "Same as you do when you
have consenting sex with your wife – the vibe you get, the reaction to what
you're doing to them," Shipton replied. He said the teenager was
the type of woman who was attracted to police and he believed she had had sex
with other officers. Her allegations that he
had dropped by her flat and raped her were "rubbish" and it was a
"total lie" that she was forced to have group sex and abused with a
police baton. Rickards, now an
assistant commissioner, told investigator Ira Lines that there had been only
two sexual encounters – a threesome with Shipton and oral sex at her flat. He was sure she
consented because she initiated it. "She would sit on your knee and try
to kiss you . . . All I can say is that she played up to me on both
occasions." Schollum told
investigator Charles Moorehead that he had a casual relationship with Mrs
Nicholas over about three years, beginning when she was 16. He thought he had
sex with her a total of five or six times, including threesomes with Shipton.
"From my point of
view Louise fully knew what she was doing, consented and enjoyed what she was
doing," he said. Her allegations were
incredible given that they had kept in contact through a mutual friend. |
