Allegations of abuse by NZ Police
	peterellis Home / police allegations / Rickards, Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 4 - Initial Reaction to Not Guilty Verdict
	Newstalk ZB March 2 2007; 05:49 Difficult time ahead for Rickards? A former head of the Police Association turned lawyer believes suspended assistant police commissioner Clint Rickards will be in for a hard time if he retains his job within the force. Mr Rickards and co-accused Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum have been acquitted on charges of the kidnap and indecent assault with a whiskey bottle of a 16-year-old girl in Rotorua in 1984. Mr Rickards now wants his job back as Auckland District Commander but police national headquarters says he remains suspended while employment issues are worked through. Lawyer Rob Moodie represented Superintendent Alec Waugh in his successful battle for reinstatement when fraud charges against him were quashed in 1998 and says Mr Rickards may have lost favour with some in the police force. "The police are very unforgiving in relation to situations where somebody has been charged with such serious offences, whether convicted or not." Dr Moodie says despite the fact Mr Rickards was acquitted, there has been a portrayal of unsavoury conduct. He also believes it was unwise of Mr Rickards to criticise those who ran the police inquiry, by saying "it was an investigation I would have been ashamed to have led." After the trial was over, the lifting of a suppression order revealed Shipton and Schollum are serving prison sentences for raping a woman in Mt Maunganui in 1989. Rape Crisis believes the jury should have been told about the convictions, as they were relevant to the case. Spokeswoman Andrea Black says the legal system needs to be changed and the public needs to be educated about the dynamics of the crime. She says there are some amazing people serving on the front line in the police, but sadly this case will result in women across the country losing faith in them.