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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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The first policeman
accused and acquitted of sex crimes against Louise Nicholas has broken his silence,
saying her lies have ruined his life. The man, who has
permanent name suppression, is one of seven officers Nicholas has accused of
sexual assault. None has been convicted. Last week, the other
three officers to have been charged over her allegations - Clint Rickards,
Bob Schollum and Brad Shipton -were acquitted of rape charges. The first policeman
faced three trials during 1993-94, two of which were aborted because of
inadmissible police evidence. The third jury acquitted him, and it was during
these trials that Nicholas's other allegations came to light. Nicholas claimed he had
sex with her when she was 13, while she boarded with him and his family. He
denied ever having sex with her and was later paid $21,300 compensation for
his ordeal. The man last week told
the Sunday Star-Times Nicholas lived in a "fantasy world". He said
he was obsessed about what happened to him, and that had contributed to the
collapse of his marriage. His wife last week
said: "Her lies have ruined a lot of lives." The man, now a North
Island farmer, is astounded he was never interviewed by police investigating
her allegations against Rickards, Schollum and Shipton. "I'd have liked
to have been interviewed, I could have contributed." The Operation Austin
police team spent thousands of hours interviewing people who knew Nicholas
and the three men, and vowed the inquiries would be thorough. But police
never asked the man first accused by Nicholas for his version of events. Supporters of the
latest officers acquitted have also raised concerns about the police inquiry.
Shipton's brothers Craig and Greg Shipton were concerned detectives had not interviewed
key people, and said the police inquiry had been selective with its evidence.
The first accused man
says the only contact he has had from police was at Christmas, when a Rotorua
detective rang him to say he could be charged with perjury over his historic
case, and asked if he would be interviewed. He told the detective to
"piss off" and has not heard from police since. He was still haunted by
a huge "injustice" and a room in his house is filled with
neatly-stacked piles of files, photos and evidence from his trial. His marriage collapsed
more than a year ago - just after details of the latest Nicholas allegations
surfaced. It brought back ugly memories for the couple. The man's wife said she
had been glued to TV coverage of the latest trial and felt for the wives of
the three accused. She said watching last
week's case brought back horrible memories, and she felt like she had gone
through her husband's case all over again. She said she had never
doubted her husband's innocence. The former policeman
plans to start a new life overseas |
