Allegations of abuse by NZ Police
	peterellis Home / police allegations / Rickards, Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 4 - Initial Reaction to Not Guilty Verdict
	Stuff March 2 2007; 16:01 Verdicts spark vandalism in Chch UPDATED REPORT: Anger at the not guilty verdicts for suspended Assistant Police Commissioner Clint Rickards and two former police officers on sex charges sparked a vandalism attack on Christchurch's court complex. Red paint was splashed over glass doors at the entrance to the Christchurch District Court with words conveying anger at 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. 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. Mr Rickards and former officers Bob Schollum and Brad Shipton were acquitted yesterday of kidnapping and indecently assaulting a 16-year-old girl more than 20 years ago. The acquittals came in not guilty verdicts from a jury of eight men and four women after a seven day trial at the High Court in Auckland. They had also been acquitted almost a year ago of raping Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas. While Mr Rickards walked free from court, Schollum and Shipton returned to prison where they are both serving jail terms for raping a 20-year-old woman at Mt Maunganui 18 years ago. Ms Payne said she believed the court vandalism "reflected the broader view of the community". "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. 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. Police said today graffiti on the court walls had been photographed before it was quickly washed off this morning as part of an investigation into an act of wilful damage. Christchurch central police area commander Inspector Gary Knowles said police were liaising with court security staff. But he refused to confirm that security cameras at the court captured an image of a man during the attack. "It's an ongoing investigation which we're not going to discuss," Mr Knowles told NZPA. "It's as simple as that." He said police would not discuss "our current line of inquiry, or what we're going to do with it either". "I don't want to whip this up into anything more than what it really is."