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Allegations of abuse
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Home / police allegations / Rickards,
Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 6 - Further Reaction to
Not Guilty Verdict |
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Prime Minister Helen Clark has
condemned the past behaviour of suspended Assistant Police Commissioner Clint
Rickards, but won't be drawn on whether he will keep his job. Mr Rickards was acquitted last
week of rape, along with two former police officers. The three men engaged in
group sex with a teenager in the 1980s while they were policemen. Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard is
among those calling for Mr Rickards not to be re-instated. Miss Clark says her position as
prime minister means she is more constrained than Mr Hubbard in giving her
opinion but says the group sex in which the men engaged is appalling. Miss Clark says the law
restricting juries' knowledge of past convictions needs to be looked at.
Mr Hubbard says Mr Rickards has
lost the public's confidence after lending his support to his co-accused, who
are convicted rapists. He says the "vast majority" of Aucklanders -
particularly women - are opposed to Mr Rickards returning as district
commander. He says a police officer is
required to have moral leadership in the community. This was no longer
possible when Mr Rickards had admitted inappropriate sexual behaviour and
being good friends with convicted rapists. The Police Commissioner's Office
says Mr Rickards will remain suspended while employment issues are worked
through, which it says will take some time. Mr Rickards and two former
officers were found not guilty on Thursday of kidnapping and indecently
assaulting a woman in Rotorua between November 1983 and August 1984. The
complainant was 16 at the time. It was the third in a series of
trials involving police officers.
Last year, a jury cleared Mr
Rickards and two former officers 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 in the High Court at Following the latest acquittals by
a jury of eight men and four women in the High Court at 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.
The Police Complaints Authority is
to review how an investigation into the claims of sexual abuse by police
officers in the 1980s was conducted. Mr Rickards has described the
investigation, known as Operation Austin, as a shambles, and insists he
should be reinstated. He was quoted in a weekend
newspaper as claiming that witnesses were coached and that police overlooked
inconsistencies in the complainants' evidence. It's also emerged that a former
detective who originally investigated Ms Nicholas's allegations will face
trial for conspiring to pervert the course of justice. John Dewar is due to
go on trial later this year.
Police Headquarters says it
"doesn't feel any need to comment" on Mr Rickard's accusations
about Operation Austin. The Police Complaints Authority
won't confirm whether it's received a complaint from Mr Rickards. But investigations manager Allan
Galbraith says it has been monitoring the investigation in anticipation of
complaints from both sides, and the inquiry is set to resume.
Women's Refuge says reinstating Mr
Rickards to his role as a senior police officer would spark nationwide
outrage. National manager Heather Henare
says the public has lost confidence in him after his comments outside court
that he was still friends with the convicted rapists Shipton and Schollum and
that the police investigation was a shambles. The Auckland Sexual Abuse HELP
Foundation also believes having him back in his job would deter women from
coming forward with complaints. Rape-survivor-turned-counsellor
Brenda Cheyne says it is difficult for women to have their experiences
acknowledged and validated - and the recent cases have highlighted that. Ms
Cheyne believes a culture of misogyny exists.
Women's Refuge says reinstating Mr
Rickards to his role as a senior police officer would spark nationwide
outrage. National manager Heather Henare
says the public has lost confidence in him after his comments outside court
that he was still friends with the convicted rapists Shipton and Schollum and
that the police investigation was a shambles. The Auckland Sexual Abuse HELP
Foundation also believes having him back in his job would deter women from
coming forward with complaints. Rape-survivor-turned-counsellor
Brenda Cheyne says it is difficult for women to have their experiences
acknowledged and validated - and the recent cases have highlighted that. Ms
Cheyne believes a culture of misogyny exists. |
