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Allegations
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The jury in the Louise
Nicholas rape trial at the Auckland High court has found assistant police
commissioner Clint Rickards and former officers Bob Schollum and Brad Shipton
not guilty on a raft of sex charges dating back two decades. One News reporter John
Stewart says there was an enormous reaction from the public gallery after the
three men were acquitted on all 20 charges of rape, sexual violation and
indecent assault. He says there was much
crying from the wives and family of the three men and as the officers stood
in the dock "the tears were rolling down their cheeks, their faces
contorted with crying". It was such an emotional moment that Stewart
says the judge had to clear the court because he still had to discuss
suppression issues with council. Nicholas left the court
immediately after the verdict and would not comment. Emerging from the
court, Rickards says the last two-and-a-half years have been torture for him
and his family. He says the whole ordeal has been a nightmare. Rickards thanked his
family for its support and says he is pleased justice had prevailed. His
lawyer, John Haigh QC, said the matter of Rickard's employment would be
discussed with the police at a later date. Deputy police
commissioner Lyn Provost says this is not a process that can be rushed as
there are many factors involved. Provost says the
Operation Austin team which investigated Rickards and the former officers did
so according to the highest standards of professionalism. Shipton's wife Sharon
and brother Greg say they now want to celebrate what they say is a just
outcome, while Schollum's wife Caron says she just wants to go home and hold
their children. The seven women and
five men began deliberating at 1pm on Wednesday after a two-and-a-half week
trial. They returned to the
courtroom several times during deliberations to ask the judge questions,
including whether the police own their own uniforms and if they get to keep
them. The judge told the jury evidence given was that Rotorua CIB officers at
the time of the alleged offences were encouraged to have a uniform. They also asked a
question in relation to the evidence of a suppressed witness. Friends and family of
the three accused had been waiting outside the courtroom. In summing up the judge
said the jury must put aside any moral judgement on the behaviour of the
three accused and consider whether the evidence amounted to any criminal
offending. Closing his case
Rickards' lawyer said that if the allegations made by Nicholas were not so
tragically serious, they would be laughable. Haigh told the jury that
Nicholas may be deluded, or that she may be a consummate liar. He detailed
what he called "gaps a mile wide" in her evidence. The lawyer for Bob
Schollum said the evidence against his client was not good enough to convict
him and there were many things that did not stack up. During its closing
address, the Crown said Nicholas was ill-equipped to deal with the predatory
advances of the three police officers when she was 18 years old. Prosecutor Brent
Stanaway said that the credibility of Nicholas was central to its case. He said
she was not eloquent, cultured or educated, but someone with a nuggety,
down-to-earth personality. Evidence Louise Nicholas, her
husband and mother-in-law were among those who gave evidence for the Crown.
Both Nicholas and her husband Ross were overcome by emotion while in the
witness box. Nicholas said she was
forced to have intercourse and oral sex with Shipton and Rickards between six
and 12 times. She said they would often turn up at her Rotorua flat
unannounced, wanting sex. She also described in emotional detail an incident
when she was allegedly raped and assaulted with a police baton. Ross Nicholas testified
in the first week of the trial, crying as he detailed a visit to his
wife-to-be by two of the accused. He was overcome with emotion as he talked
about a muslin dress he had given his wife as a present - the dress Louise
Nicholas claims she was wearing when all three accused allegedly raped her
and assaulted her with a police baton. Neither Schollum or
Shipton gave evidence during the trial, but Rickards did, repeatedly telling
the court that Nicholas' allegations were lies. Rickards told the court that
sex with Louise Nicholas was consensual, that it was a fun and jovial time
and it happened on two occasions in the evening. He also denied ever being
involved in any group sex at the Rutland St police house or using a police
baton during sex. Many of the witness
testimonies were suppressed. |
