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Allegations of abuse
by NZ Police |
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peterellis
Home / police allegations / Rickards,
Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 5 - Further Reaction to
Not Guilty Verdict |
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by Rachel Morton
The alleged victim The 39-year-old mother of four
looked nervous and tired. Not well educated or articulate, she was easily
confused. Prosecutor Brent Stanaway gently questioned her about the alleged
sexual assault by five burly policemen, but under cross-examination, she
became flustered and more disoriented.
With crafty, confident and at
times clever cross-examination, Brent Stanaway hit his straps when Brad
Shipton's wife Sharon claimed she and her husband had been on holiday at the
time of the alleged offences.
Rickards sat staring straight
ahead throughout the trial, not even flinching, as his accuser described how
she'd been held down and had a bottle inserted into her vagina. The first
defence witness, Rickards was the only one of the three accused to speak for
himself. He claimed he had never met the complainant. He answered questions
with assertion, with the prosecution later describing him as a practised liar
and witness.
Rickards' family stood firmly by
him throughout the trial, his wife Tania Eden appearing unusually perky,
considering the circumstances. His brother and sons were also at the court,
day in and day out, impatient and annoyed that their time was being wasted.
John Haigh, QC, was quick to blame
the media for his client's predicament. Tall and statesmanlike, his
confidence shone out above the legal line-up, as did his ready sarcastic
quips.
The man who had an affair with a
vulnerable 16-year-old girl was the common link with the other two accused.
His anxiety was clear to the reporters sitting directly behind him, with the
strong smell of stale cigarette smoke wafting after him each time he entered
the courtroom. Shipton stared straight at the complainant as she spoke,
shaking his head in disagreement and looking at the jury with pleading eyes.
He eyeballed the media, again shaking his head in disgust. As his wife
Shipton's wife was like a woman
possessed, blinded by love. At first she was witty, making the jury laugh as
she described her husband's weight gain over the years. But after it emerged
her cousin would refute her holiday alibi, she cried, then looked numb and
broken.
Bill Nabney seemed pleased with himself
when Sharon Shipton first took the stand. His perfect witness would give
prosecutor Brent Stanaway a run for his money. But as Mrs Shipton's cousin
told the court she could not recall the holiday, you could almost see his
stomach knot, and he never fully recovered. His closing address was
reminiscent of a dry university lecture you know you have to listen to or
risk failing the paper.
The most dishevelled of the three
accused. The bags under his eyes were a telling sign of the stress he was
under. Each time he was led out of the court, he anxiously scanned the public
gallery for supporters and took every opportunity to converse with and hug
loved ones.
Caron Schollum showed up at court
sporadically, the best looking and youngest of the three wives. Always well
dressed and made up, she would sometimes change her clothes half-way through
the day and return looking even more stylish. She cried with the other women
when the verdicts were returned, and mouthed "I love you" as her
husband was taken back into custody to complete his jail term for rape.
Paul Mabey, QC, elected not to
call evidence on Schollum's behalf, perhaps a wise move after Sharon
Shipton's testimony. He was quick to distance Schollum from that evidence,
well aware of the damage it could have caused. |
