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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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The three men accused
of raping Louise Nicholas have been found not guilty on all charges. They were facing 12
counts of rape and sexual assault relating to incidents in Rotorua 20 years
ago. A jury at the High
Court in Auckland has found Assistant Police Commissioner Clint Rickards and
former police officers Bob Schollum, Brad Shipton not guilty. There were emotional
scenes in the High Court following the verdict. Newstalk ZB's reporter says
all the families were in court and there was lots of crying and hugging, with
the cleared men crying as well. She says it has been a
long haul for all concerned, following two-and-a-half weeks of evidence in
the case. Earlier, tensions were
running high with Clint Rickards' son shouldering a newspaper cameraman who
was taking photos of the family as it arrived in court. The jury may have
returned not guilty verdicts in the Louise Nicholas case, but the damage
might already have been done. Victoria University's
senior criminology lecturer Jan Jordan says the spotlight has recently gone
on the police and how they handle sexual assault claims. She says seeing how
tough defence counsel can be on claimants might also cause women to fear
taking their case to court. She says no-one has a squeaky clean past and the
way that could be presented in court can stop women from reporting sexual
assaults. Dr Jordan hopes rape
victims will take heart in the fact that police are prepared to put its own
officers before a jury. |
