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This page last updated Feb 13 2005
2004-0202 - Waikato Times - Bleak
prospects for the accused
Editorial - ….Serious complaints and inquiries are never consigned to history. When they
resurface years later they not only have a bearing on the future of the
individual involved but on what they represent. And that is what will be
ultimately unforgivable: that an organisation which relies so heavily on
public confidence, suddenly finds its faults so glaringly exposed
2004-0202 - Auckland Mayor - No
less than a High Court Judge, says Mayor
Auckland
City’s Mayor, Hon John Banks, said today in relation to the latest claims
being made against police: “These present matters need to be put behind the
Police once and for all and this can only happen if the latest round of
investigations are overseen by a High Court Judge
2004-0202 - NZ First Party -
Independent Inquiry Essential Says Peters
Rt. Hon Winston Peters, today said that there should be a full
independent inquiry into the renewed rape allegations against a senior police
officer and two other former officers.
2004-0202 - ACT Party - Revelations
Re-Iterate Need For Urgent Inquiry
by Muriel Newman - ……Both Mr Hawkins and Prime Minister Helen Clark
had a duty to investigate these accusations.
Miss Clark now confesses to having judged Mr Rickards unsuitable for
promotion over these accusations in 1999 – yet she failed in her obligation,
to the complainant and police, to properly examine the situation in order to
ascertain the truth.
2004-0202 - Stuff - Panel rated Rickards
highly, PM says
NZPA - A panel charged with appointing a new deputy police commissioner rated
Clint Rickards highly until it was made aware of allegations about him, Prime
Minister Helen Clark said today
2004-0202 - Stuff - Woman makes
more than one rape complaint against police
The woman behind historic rape allegations against three police
officers also made another rape allegation against police that led to a
series of criminal trials, it was revealed today. Judge Borrin said the allegations against
Mr Rickards and the other two men came to light after the PCA was called in
to investigate poor handling of another rape allegation against police by Mrs
Nicholas. That allegation proceeded to criminal trials in Rotorua District
Court between 1993 and 1995, Judge Borrin said. The first two trials were
aborted after inadmissible evidence was put before the court and the third
was successfully defended. However, the trial judge criticised police
handling of the case, sparking the PCA inquiry.
2004-0202 - Otago Daily Times -
Commissioner accuses media of hampering inquiry
NZPA - Police attempts to investigate historic rape allegations
against three former Rotorua officers are being "hampered" by the
refusal of media outlets to reveal all their information, New Zealand's
police chief says. He took particular issue with the tactic of drip-feeding
information to maximise the life of the story.
2004-0202 - Otago Daily Times -
Policeman denies rape case cover-up Auckland commander accused
The former senior police officer accused of covering up a rape
complaint against colleagues denies claims he manipulated the young
complainant or acted "incompetently".
2004-0202 - Otago Daily Times -
Policeman denies cover-up
NZPA - Mr Miller told One News last night the inquiry found Mr Dewar
had not committed any criminal or disciplinary offence but his failure to
record and investigate the allegations showed "a gross lack of judgement
and competence". Mr Miller said it had been "unprofessional"
of Mr Dewar to investigate close associates. "I think she [the
complainant] was very naive and easily manipulated, almost like play dough.
2004-0202 - Otago Daily Times -
Policewoman told baton 'used for sex'
NZPA - A former Rotorua policewoman says she was told her missing
police baton had been "used for sex", as a new inquiry is launched
into a woman's allegations she was raped by three police officers
2004-0202 - One News - Pressure over Rickards
inquiry
The government is coming under pressure to order a full independent
inquiry into rape allegations against Auckland's most senior
policeman…..There have already been two police investigations into what
happened but the woman, Louise Nicholas, claims they both failed to uncover
the truth.
2004-0202 - Green Party - Greens want
rape-claim inquiry widened
The
Green Party is calling for the inquiry into rape allegations against former
Rotorua police officers to also consider the failure of police hierarchy and
the Police Minister to fully investigate the complaints when they were
originally made aware of them
2004-0202 - NZ Police - Press
Release
Commissioner Rob Robinson said that following a number of media
inquiries during the day he was issuing a clarifying statement: The
Background facts; The review initiated this weekend; Current Employment
status of Assistant Commissioner Rickards
2004-0202 - NZ Herald - Police
Complaints Authority says new info warrants investigation
NZPA - PCA head Judge Ian Borrin told NZPA today that a women
officer's report that her baton had gone missing for a couple of weeks in
about 1986, before being returned to her and told it had been used in sex
with a woman, was new information from what a 1995 PCA inquiry was told.
2004-0202 - Newstalk ZB - PM
consulting on pack rape claim inquiry
Helen Clark's office consulting to decide on best way to handle
inquiry into claims top cop involved in pack rape. The Prime Minister says it
is important that outside eyes look at accusations that police, including
Assistant Commissioner Clint Rickards, were involved in a pack rape 20 years
ago…….Meanwhile it has emerged that a police insider sparked the story.
Dominion Post editor Tim Pankhurst says it was not the complainant who went
to reporter Phillip Kitchin with the story.
2004-0202 - Newstalk ZB - Status
of top cop on leave reviewed
Mr
Rickards has offered to take three weeks leave to ensure impartiality in the
review and promises to fully cooperate, but strongly denies the allegations.
He says he expects to return to work as normal after the latest inquiry.
2004-0202 - Newstalk ZB - Overseas judge
wanted after rape allegations
Peter Williams QC wants an independent overseas judge brought in to
investigate allegations that police covered up a rape accusation.
2004-0202 - Dominion Post - Baton
used for sex, officer told
by Philip Kitchin - A former Rotorua policewoman says the police baton
she lost in the mid-1980s was returned to her by a policeman who said it had
been used for deviant sex on a young girl……. Asked whether she had been told
exactly what the baton had been used for, Mrs Butcher said she "had the
feeling that it was a threesome from the suggestions that were made".
2004-0202 - Dominion Post -
Rickards stands aside
by Haydon Dewes - Assistant Commissioner Clint Rickards has stood down
as Auckland
police commander while his bosses and the Government decide how official
inquiries will be pursued into rape allegations against him and two other
men. ……..In a brief statement yesterday, Mr Rickards, said "I will be
cooperating fully with the inquiry and look forward to the false and
destructive allegations made … being resolved once and for all."
2004-0202 - Dominion Post - PM
orders independent inquiry
by Leah Haines - Prime Minister Helen Clark has ordered a new,
independent inquiry into allegations of pack-rape by three police officers.
She said a police investigation alone would not do.
2004-0202 - NZ Herald - Police cover-up allegation: What the Police Commissioner says
Commissioner Rob Robinson has ordered a full review of the allegations
levelled by Louise Nicholas. He said that the review would cover all the
matters raised in the media by the complainant, the prior historical
allegations and the inquiries into them.
2004-0202 - NZ Herald - Police cover-up allegation: Responses from the accused
Statement by lawyer
Daniel McLellan, My clients are deeply concerned by the [media]
coverage
Statement by Clint Rickards:
Accusations have no substance whatsoever
Statement by Brad Shipton: I denied
the allegations absolutely in the early 1990s, and I deny them absolutely now
Statement by Bob Schollum: The
allegations have absolutely no foundation
2004-0202 - NZ Herald - Police cover-up allegation: What
Louise Nicholas says
Louise Nicholas has alleged that
·
she was raped and violated by three police
officers in Rotorua in 1986 when she was 18 years old
·
another officer covered up her allegations to
protect his colleagues.
·
she sought help at the time of the incidents but
was ignored.
·
after the pack-rape Mr Rickards and Mr Shipton
would come to her house and demand sex
·
in 1993 she went to make a formal complaint but
was advised by John Dewar not to.
2004-0202 - NZ Herald - Police cover-up allegation: Investigator denies cover-up
by Ainsley Thomson - A former policeman accused of covering up the alleged
pack-rape of a Rotorua woman by three policemen is standing by his handling
of the investigation. …….Mrs Nicholas told [Mr Dewar] she had consensual sex
with the men - which they admitted - but had not consented to the baton being
used. Mr Dewar said she did not raise any allegations of pack-rape. "My
understanding was that all the sexual activity with the officers was
consensual. But the one incident involving the baton wasn't." He said a
full investigation was carried out into the baton incident.
2004-0202 - NZ Herald - Police cover-up allegation: Inquiry
tainted says probe head
Rex Miller, the former top officer who did the Police Complaints
Authority inquiry into the handling of the rape allegations, says police
chiefs should have known years ago that his inquiry was compromised - because
of interference by John Dewar, who was head of Rotorua CIB.
2004-0202 - NZ Herald - Police
defend top job for Rickards
by Kevin Taylor, Patrick Gower and Phil Taylor - The Police
Commissioner has defended promoting Clint Rickards to the top Auckland police
job despite knowing for seven years about sexual allegations against him
2004-0202 - NZ Herald - Nicholas
inquiry may look at other cases
by Patrick Gower - Police may widen their investigation into the
Louise Nicholas allegations to include other mishandled sex complaints in the
same district at the same time. Commissioner Rob Robinson last night
confirmed he was aware of the two other cases in the Bay of Plenty about the
same time as Louise Nicholas' claims there was a cover-up of police allegedly
pack-raping her
2004-0201 - Act Party - Independent Inquiry
Needed On Police Complaint
by
Dr Muriel Newman - ACT New Zealand Police Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman today
demanded to know why rape allegations against three police officers were not
independently investigated when Police Minister George Hawkins first became
aware of them – before one of these officers was given the position of
Assistant Police Commissioner
2004-0201 - Newstalk ZB - Rape allegation cop
offers to stand down
The
senior policeman at the centre of a revived allegation of rape has offered to
stand down for three weeks
2004-0201 - Newstalk ZB (08:41) - QC says police
shouldn't investigate themselves
Police should not investigate themselves- QC Peter Williams says
review of rape complaint must be independent. The police should not
investigate themselves. That is the view of Queen's Counsel Peter Williams,
after the Police Commissioner launched a review of a rape complaint
investigation.
2004-0201 - One News -
Ex-inspector backs rape accuser
One of the police who took part in a Police Complaints Authority
inquiry into the handling of an allegation of rape against police officers
says the complainant was manipulated into not making a formal complaint.
Former Detective Chief Inspector Rex Miller and other senior police were part
of a Police Complaints Authority investigation in 1995 into the handling of
the allegation. Miller says he had concerns right from the start that the
complainant had been manipulated into not making a formal complaint.
2004-0201 - Sunday Star Times - From rabble
rouser to role model
by David Fisher - He wanted to be the country's first Maori police
commissioner. Clint Rickards, who started life on the wrong side of the
tracks, was headed for the top.
2004-0201 - Sunday Star Times - 'I felt no
one would believe me'
What Louise Nicholas said: "I have done nothing wrong…….."I
was led into there and my clothes were removed…….."For 23 years of my
life I have had to carry….."I felt no one would believe me
2004-0201 - Sunday Star Times - PM
knew of rape claim
by Rachel Grunwell and Oskar Alley - Prime Minister Helen Clark last
night ordered a full inquiry into rape allegations against an assistant
police commissioner - amid revelations she was briefed on the claims before
he was promoted……..Lawyers acting for the three men - Rickards, Shipton and
Schollum - issued strong statements again denying the allegations, stating
they were cleared 10 years ago and that defamation expert Julian Miles QC had
been hired to represent them
2004-0201 - One News - Maori
leaders support Rickards
Maori
leaders are showing their support for Clint Rickards, the Assistant Police
Commissioner facing rape allegations over an incident in Rotorua 18 years
ago…………A One News investigation has revealed key information that the police
are unaware of. For the first time, Nicholas' claims that she was sexually assaulted
with a police baton in 1986 appear to have been strengthened. A former
Rotorua policewoman has told One News that her police baton was used for
"deviant sexual behaviour"……….A sexual assault researcher says the
three men at the centre of the rape allegations should be treated as innocent
until proven guilty. Auckland
University's Felicity
Goodyear-Smith...says if the processes are properly followed, it is not fair
on the accused to continue the allegations unless real new evidence comes to
light.
2004-0131 - One News - Woman alleges brutal
police rape
Louise Nicholas has told ONE News that Assistant Commissioner Clint
Rickards and two former policemen, Brad Shipton who is now a Tauranga city
councillor and car salesman Bob Schollum, raped her with a police baton in
1986……Nicholas, now married with three children, said she has got nothing to
be ashamed about.
2004-0131 - One News - Dominion
Post alleges police rape
The Dominion Post has alleged that three police officers pack-raped a
teenager in Rotorua in 1986, and that police failed to deal properly with a
complaint about it. The newspaper says the story is the result of a two year
investigation
2004-0131 - NZ Herald - Top NZ cop
under review after pack rape allegations
NZPA - Police Commissioner Rob Robinson today ordered a full review of
issues raised in a media report today that a woman was raped by three
policemen, including Clint Rickards who is now an assistant commissioner and Auckland city police
commander. …He told reporters in Wellington
this afternoon that all the matters raised in today's Dominion Post -- the
historical allegations and the inquiries into them -- would be reviewed.
….The command of Auckland
City district would be
reviewed again on Monday morning
2004-0131 - Newstalk ZB - Commissioner
launches rape review
The Police Commissioner has launched a review of an investigation of
rape allegations, made against three police officers several years
ago…..Commissioner Rob Robinson says he was made aware of the allegations in
the 1990s. He believed it was investigated and reviewed, and the officers had
been cleared. But Mr Robinson says it is a new matter that the integrity of
that process is being questioned
2004-0131 - NZ Police - Press Release
Commissioner
Rob Robinson has today ordered a full review of matters covered in a Police
related story in today’s Dominion Post. The Commissioner said that the review
would cover all the matters raised in the media by the complainant, the prior
historical allegations and the inquiries into them.
2004-0131 - Newstalk ZB - Police Assoc keeps
close eye on allegations
The Police Association says it will be keeping a close eye on
allegations that three senior officers pack raped a teenager….. Minister
George Hawkins says the Police Complaints Authority will be looking into the
matter
2004-0131 - Newstalk ZB -
Investigation into police pack rape claim
Police Minister calls for more information on alleged pack rape of
teen by police in Rotorua in 1986
2004-0131 - The Press - Necessary
exposure
Editorial - Allegations against the police are easily made and can be difficult to
disentangle. The public, the media, the courts and the police themselves tend
to view such attacks with scepticism, but the scepticism at times needs to be
challenged. This is one of those occasions.
2004-0131 - The Press - Louise Nicholas's
statement
"I believe there has been a cover- up and I'm appealing for the
Government to order an independent inquiry into how my allegations were
investigated. ......"I will be asking our Prime Minister to order an
independent inquiry to ensure that as a victim of police abuses I can finally
be treated fairly and decently
2004-0131 - Dominion Post - 'No, I
don't want this'
by Philip Kitchin - The woman at the centre of rape allegations
against three men including a police assistant commissioner says she knew
before they touched her what was about to happen. The incidents began, she
says, in Rotorua when she was walking home from work one day in about 1986
2004-0131 - Dominion Post -
Victim's behaviour 'typical'
by Philip Kitchin - The behaviour of a Rotorua teenager who alleged
that she was repeatedly raped by two police officers but did not run for help
was typical of young sexual abuse victims, an expert says. Sexual abuse
counsellor Margaret Craig agreed to speak of her assessment of Rotorua woman
Louise Nicholas -- who made the rape allegations -- after being given
permission by Mrs Nicholas to comment. Mrs Nicholas was referred for
counselling when she was 26, after telling her doctor and family about the
alleged rapes
2004-0131 - Dominion Post - Policeman
admitted protecting his mates
A police officer who received a complaint from a woman that she had
been raped by other officers said he did nothing about it in order to protect
his colleagues, a police document shows. The Dominion Post has obtained a job
sheet written by former Rotorua CIB chief John Dewar, outlining a secretly
taped interview with former police officer Trevor Clayton, who had by then
left the police
2004-0131 - Dominion
Post - Woman accuses top
officer of teen pack-rape
by Philip Kitchin - The man being
groomed to be New Zealand's next police commissioner, a Tauranga city
councillor and a Napier used car salesman have been accused of pack-raping a
teenage girl when they all served as police in Rotorua. Auckland's senior policeman, Assistant
Commissioner Clint Rickards, councillor Brad Shipton and salesman Bob
Schollum are alleged to have raped the teenager and violated her with a
police baton in about 1986. The woman making the allegations, Louise
Nicholas, says she sought help at the time of the incidents, but was ignored
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