Allegations of abuse by NZ Police
	peterellis Home / police allegations / Rickards, Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 6 - Further Reaction to Not Guilty Verdict
	The Nelson Mail March 6 2007 Schollum, Shipton and Rickards by Teresa O'Connor Whatever about the latest not-guilty verdicts, these names will forever be a byword for misogyny, swaggering masculine power and everything that is rotten about New Zealand's macho male culture. Though these events happened nearly two decades ago, stories of every kind of violence against women feature almost daily in our news bulletins, confirming, sadly, that little has changed in some men's attitudes towards women over the 20 years. Why, in the case of sexual crime, can't the defendant's past sexual history be fair game for the prosecution, just as the complainant's sexual history is fair game for the defence? That would go some small way to balancing up the scales of justice, which, when it comes to sexual crimes, are tipped dangerously in favour of the defendant. It is notoriously difficult to get a conviction in sexual crimes and allowing the defendant's sexual past to be revealed and raked over might change the dynamics of such cases. This latest chapter in the grim and ghastly Schollum, Shipton, Rickards saga has seen the emergence of another victim to join the Mount Maunganui woman, Louise Nicholas and the latest complainant, and that is Brad Shipton's wife Sharon. That she is still with a convicted rapist is sad enough, but that her father and cousin were prepared to rebut her evidence is truly tragic. A message for Sharon: get out while you've still got a shred of dignity left; unshackle yourself from a controlling, bullying, sexual aggressor and make a life for yourself. Step out of the shadow of fear, humiliation and shame and reclaim your right to a life not defined by the sexual crime of your husband. Ditto for Caren Schollum. Rickards' boast outside the court that he'd be back at work on Monday and that Shipton and Schollum were still his mates has ensured, if there was any doubt, that he will never return to the police force. For a supposedly star cop (casual group sex with a teenager notwithstanding), he showed a singular lack of wit and insight in his post-trial outburst. He is not fit to be a police officer, never mind assistant commissioner, ever again.