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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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Assistant Commissioner
Clinton Rickards will testify today that he did not rape Louise Nicholas in
Rotorua 20 years ago. His lawyer, John Haigh,
QC, opened Rickards' defence case yesterday afternoon by telling jurors it
was up to them to "end the nightmare that has enveloped this man and
virtually destroyed his career". He invited the jury in
the High Court at Auckland to regard Mrs Nicholas' evidence of being raped
and abused as either a series of calculated lies or delusional recollections.
The defence opened
after the jury had heard from five secret prosecution witnesses, whose
evidence cannot be reported at this time because of suppression orders. Rickards, who has been
suspended from the police, and former policemen Robert Schollum and Bradley
Shipton face a total of 20 sex charges dating from 1985 and 1986. Last week Louise
Nicholas, now 38, testified that Rickards and Shipton repeatedly dropped by
her flat when she was alone and used her for sex. She also said Rickards was
part of an attack at a Rutland St house in January 1986, that he raped her as
the three men forced her into a group sex session and that he then stood by
while a police baton was used to sexually abuse her. Mr Haigh said Rickards
would take the stand to refute those allegations. His client's defence had
remained unchanged since he was first confronted with Mrs Nicholas'
allegations in 1994 – that there had been two instances of consensual sex.
Mrs Nicholas had not been a child when the sexual contact took place. Though that was
"probably" morally wrong because Rickards had a partner and two
children at the time, it was not criminal wrongdoing, Mr Haigh said. Rickards would outline
the background to the case, his involvement with Louise Nicholas, and her
allegations over the years, Mr Haigh said. His former supervisor
would also testify that Rickards was a plain-clothes policeman at the
relevant time and would not have been wearing a uniform as Mrs Nicholas
claimed. Mr Haigh asked the jury
"to keep in mind" a number of points that "may well destroy
Mrs Nicholas' allegations". There was an
"extraordinary clash" between Mrs Nicholas and her former flatmate,
who had described a friendly atmosphere and sexual freedom at the flat. There
was also the "improbability" of the Rutland St allegations, if Mrs
Nicholas had gone into the house knowing she would be raped and done nothing.
Similarly, after that
event, she did nothing about the "vicious duo" visiting her flat
and "allowed" the brutality to continue, Mr Haigh said. The trial, which began
last week,is moving faster than expected. Prosecutor Brett
Stanaway told the jury yesterday that four other police officers – Warren
Smith, Kelvin Powell, Trevor Clayton and a fourth man – had denied offending
against Mrs Nicholas in Murupara during the 1980s. |
