Allegations of abuse by NZ Police
	peterellis Home / police allegations / Rickards, Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 4 - Initial Reaction to Not Guilty Verdict
	Radio NZ March 2 2007; 13:22 Police sex case graffiti painted on District Court building Red graffiti has been painted on the District Court building in Christchurch after the latest acquittals in the police sex case in Auckland. There is red paint across the front doors and a slogan relating to the case is painted on the building. Suspended Assistant Police Commissioner Clint Rickards and two former police officers were found not guilty on Thursday of kidnapping and indecently assaulting a woman in Rotorua between November 1983 - August 1984. The complainant was aged 16 at the time. Following the acquittals by a jury of eight men and four women in the High Court at Auckland, it was revealed the two former policemen were convicted rapists who are still serving prison terms. Suppression orders were lifted, revealing Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum were two of four men sent to prison for eight years in 2005 for the abduction and rape of a woman in Mt Maunganui in 1989. Last year, a jury cleared all three of 20 charges of sexual violation and indecent assault against Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas in 1986. The jury of seven women and five men delivered its verdict on 31 March 2006 after three days of deliberations following a 2½-week trial at the High Court in Auckland. Leaflets relating to the Mt Maunganui case were distributed publicly in Christchurch and Wellington after the outcome of the 2006 trial. Message supported In Christchurch on Friday, a member of the group, Justice for Rape Survivors, said they supported the message painted on the Court building. She said a lot of people felt very strongly about the verdict. Another group, Rape Crisis, is calling for juries to be informed about any previous convictions of defendants.