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Home / police allegations / Rickards,
Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 4 - Initial Reaction to
Not Guilty Verdict |
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Anger at the not guilty verdicts
on sex charges for suspended Assistant Police Commissioner Clint Rickards and
two former police officers has triggered vandalism at a court complex. Red paint was splashed over glass
doors at the entrance to the Christchurch District Court and a slogan
questioning the verdict daubed in black paint on the grey concrete walls. A small protest group representing
Justice for Rape Survivors carried placards outside the entrance, but denied
having anything to do with the vandalism. A jury in the High Court in Shipton and Schollum are already
serving jail sentences for the rape of a Mt Maunganui woman. Rickards was not
involved in that case. All three were last year cleared of raping Louise
Nicholas. Protest group spokeswoman Joanna
Payne said she knew nothing about the graffiti attack until arriving at the
court complex with three friends for an impromptu "symbolic"
demonstration about 9am. "I
don't know anything about it, but I think it looks great," she said. Ms Payne said she believed the
court vandalism "reflected the broader view of the community" that
yesterday's verdict was wrong. "I've heard a lot of people
say they feel strongly about what has happened and shock at the verdict...
that it was not guilty," she said. "I guess this is a symbol of
that shock and that anger about the fact this was an unfair trial." Ms Payne said Justice for Rape
Survivors believed evidence relating to earlier court cases involving Mr Rickards,
Schollum and Shipton should have been put before the jury in the latest
trial. Provisions in law would have
allowed such "weighted evidence" to be introduced during the trial,
she said. She said her group had been
involved in distributing pamphlets with court-suppressed details during the
Louise Nicholas trial. Police are investigating today's
vandalism. It is understood security cameras
at the court captured an image of a man during the attack. Rape Crisis - a separate
organisation to the one protesting in The group's director of rape
prevention and education Kim McGregor told Newstalk ZB the complainant in
this case would be shattered by the result, after effectively having been put
on trial herself. There had to be a change from the
adversarial system that pitted one person against another in terms of their
credibility, she said. Dr McGregor would like to see an
inquisitorial form where both parties must answer questions in court. |
