Peter Ellis Org : Seeking Justice for Peter Ellis
The Christchurch Civic Creche Case

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The Christchurch Civic Creche Case

A Chronology of an Injustice

1991	20 November	First complaint in creche case "I do not like Peter's black penis". Peter Ellis is a white New Zealander.
	21 November	Ellis suspended
	25-29 Nov	Education Review Office inspection of creche
	2 December	First mass meeting for creche parents
	20 December	Creche investigation closed
1992	23 January	Ellis dismissed
	30 January	First formal disclosure
	19 February	Creche investigation reopened
	27 February	First formal disclosure resulting in a conviction
		Formal interviews continue all year
	20 March	News of investigation breaks in media
	30 March	Ellis arrested
	31 March	Ellis first court appearance
	31 March	Second mass meeting for creche parents
	August	Mother of complainant child writes to police asking for an expert in ritualistic abuse to discuss the subject
	6 August	Formal disclosure of 'circle incident'
	12 August	'Phase II police inquiry established
	3 September	Creche closed
	1 October	Four women creche workers arrested. (Davidson, Keys, Buckingham, Gillespie).
	2 November	Depositions hearing begins
1993	11 February	Depositions hearing ends
	5 March	Gillespie discharged
	6 April	Davidson, Keys and Buckingham discharged
	26 April	Ellis trial begins
	21 May	University lecturer said to be persecuting student, because of his relationship with one of the discharged women - providing an indication of the hysteria of the times.
	5 June	Ellis trial ends, Peter Ellis found guilty of 16 of 25 charges of abusing children in his care at the Christchurch Civic Creche
	20 June	Woman who initiated action against Peter Ellis identified as having gone on to accuse another male creche worker at a different creche. The woman is also a founding member of a private sexual abuse organisation.
	22 June	Ellis sentenced to 10 years jail
	July	Government rejects calls for commission of inquiry.
	August	Felicity Goodyear-Smith writes a summary of the Civic Creche case, published in the IPT Journal, demonstrating a clear parallel to similar cases in other parts of the world.
	16 November	Mother whose son first implicated Ellis, brings Ritual Abuse "expert" Pamela Hudson to New Zealand, sponsored by Presbyterian Support Services.
	15 December	Women creche workers' application for costs declined.
1994	14 February	First Ellis appeal aborted (N. Hampton QC).
	25-28 July	First Ellis appeal begins (G. Panckhurst QC). The appeal on the grounds that there were gross inconsistencies in the evidence and that the bizarre nature of many of the allegations had not been addressed by the judge.
	5 August	Ellis appeal ends
	September	"End Ritual Abuse Society" formed in Christchurch by complainant parents in the Creche case.
	8 September	Appeal judgment delivered. Court of Appeal rejects Ellis' first appeal, but quashes three convictions after one of the child complainants says she lied
	November	Newly formed "End Ritual Abuse Society" obtains $1300 from the Lottery Grants Board.
1995	22 February	Ellis applies for legal aid to Privy Council
	27 Feb - 8 March	Creche staff Employment Court case
	1 March	Crown psychiatrist Karen Zelas claimed that victims use "dissociation and denial" to protect themselves
	15 March	Ellis Privy Council legal aid application declined.
	16 March	Creche staff Employment Court interim judgment. Women granted $1 million by Judge Tom Goddard
	11 April	Creche staff Employment Court supplementary judgment. Judge Goddard's decision criticised the council strongly for breaching its obligations as employer and closing the creche with no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of staff, other than Ellis
	13 April	A former policeman on the Christchurch child abuse unit adds his voice to concerns about the way allegations are handled
	8 June	Government rejects Government rejects the first formal call for an independent commission of inquiry
1996	22 February	Judge Williamson who presided over the Ellis case, dies.
	July	Trust formed with the backing of several Canterbury University academics, to raise money for an Ellis fighting fund.
	15 July	David McLoughlin writes significant review of the case in "North and South" magazine: Second Thoughts on the Christchurch Civic Creche Case : Has Justice failed Peter Ellis?
	27 July	Trust formed to collect funds for the reopening of the case, with several Christchurch academics as trustees.
	21-22 August	Creche staff Employment Court appeal
	26 September	Creche staff Employment Court appeal verdict, Court of Appeal slashes Employment Court compensation to about $170,000
	29 September	Rod Donald, Alliance candidate and later to be Co-Leader of the Green Party, pushes for an investigation. Donald is a parent of a child who attended the Creche,
	30 September	NZ Skeptics donate money to Ellis defence trust.
1997	16 November	20/20 programme casts doubt on Ellis jurors and claims inquiry head Colin Eade had a history of psychiatric problems, including an obsessional personality; that Eade had intimate relationships with two of the complainants' mothers; that child recantations had been dismissed; and that there were irregularities with the jury. The programme also highlighted the climate of "satanic and ritual abuse" hysteria that had emanated from the United States, culminating in a family violence conference and evidence of local "hysteria" and "panic".
	2 December	Ellis' lawyer, Judith Ablett-Kerr QC (who took up his case after his conviction), files her first petition seeking a pardon or rehearing of Ellis' case with the Governor-General, Sir Michael Hardie Boys. (petition for prerogative of mercy)
	December	One of the complainant parents writes a book "A Mother’s Story : The Civic Creche Child Sex Trial" under the pseudonym of "Joy Bander"
1998	February	Ellis refuses, and is refused, parole
	4 May	Governor-General, Sir Michael Hardie Boys, refers Ellis case to Court of Appeal
	June	The Appeal Court says it will confine its rehearing into the specific concerns about the case raised in the petition, with the hearing scheduled for 1999
	18 November	Judith Ablett-Kerr QC, lawyer for Ellis, announces a second petition to the Governor-General seeking a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the whole case (Second petition for prerogative of mercy)
1999	January	Second Ellis petition referred to Sir Thomas Thorp.
	11 March	Ellis refuses, and is refused, parole
	30 March	A paper on the background of satanic abuse, by Victoria University sociology Professor Michael Hill, published. "Satan’s Excellent Adventure in the Antipodes"
	13 May	Governor-General, Sir Michael Hardie Boys, turns down the second petition, but agrees to widen the terms of the case which can be referred to the Appeal Court
	5 - 9 July	Second Ellis appeal
	September	Ellis' mother, Lesley, travels to Parliament to deliver a personal request for a Royal Commission of Inquiry
	14 October	Second appeal judgment delivered, rejects Ellis case
	18 October	Judith Ablett-Kerr QC, lawyer for Ellis, announces a third petition to the Governor-General seeking a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the whole case (Third petition for prerogative of mercy)
2000	2 February	Ellis released from prison after serving the mandatory two-thirds of his sentence.
	27 February	Peter Ellis interviewed on Television 20/20 by Melanie Read
	10 March	Justice Minister Phil Goff announces a ministerial inquiry into the case, headed by former Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum, focused on the reliability of evidence given by children in the trial. Inquiry established
	April	Eichelbaum inquiry terms of reference criticised by Ellis supporters
	May-June	Eichelbaum rejects all expert witnesses recommended by Ellis.
	5 August	Group of psychologists attempt to prevent world expert on memory, Elizabeth Loftus from speaking at the annual Psychology Conference. The event underlined that there are still significant numbers of professionals who do not want to consider the possibility that memories of child abuse may be false.
	31 August	Eichelbaum inquiry report delayed by six months
2001	13 March	Eichelbaum Report released. Concludes that issues around the evidence against Ellis were handled properly and Ellis' case for pardon had failed
	13 March	Government rejects calls for pardon and commission of inquiry
	13 March	Police consider Eichelbaum report vindication of their "professionalism" in the case.
	13 March	Ellis vows to keep fighting
	16 March	Details of Sir Thomas Thorp's "secret" report, on the Ellis case are leaked to the media: Claims that his opinion casts doubt on the conviction
	16 March	Goff denies that Thorp report casts doubt on conviction Goff says that calling the report secret was "misleading" - even though the report had never been made public. (This site www.peterellis.co.nz contains a copy of Sir Thomas Thorp's report)
	17 March	Lawyer for Ellis, Judith Ablett Kerr QC, is angry Sir Thomas Thorp's recommendation that a formal opinion on the Peter Ellis case be sought from an expert American psychologist was twice rejected.
	17 March	Ellis reported to be angry that Judge's report casting doubt on his conviction was kept secret for two years, but a second affirming his guilt was made public.
	1 October	Lynley Hood's book, "A City Possessed", published, prompting a wave of fresh concern about the case. Lynley Hood reported as "believing there is evidence pointing to the innocence of Peter Ellis, quite apart from the lack of evidence of his guilt"
	From Oct	Dozens of favorable reviews appear in a large number of publications, together with analysis of the information presented in "A City Possessed"
2002	28 February	NZ Law Journal Editorial on the Ellis case. Outlines several systemic matters which "clearly require attention"
	21 May	After months of dozens of glowing reviews of the book "A City Possessed" Val Sim of the Ministry of Justice reports to her Minister, Phil Goff
	25 June	"A City Possessed" is reported to have caused a flood of letters to Goff, but he has "so far not found time to read it"
	29 June	Lynley Hood wins prestigious Montana New Zealand "History Section" Book Award for "A City Possessed"
	21 July	Lynley Hood wins Montana medal - New Zealand's premier literary award.- for her book "A City Possessed"
	24 August	Val Sim of the Ministry of Justice said the book presented "very little new information", and all points raised had been considered by previous courts and inquiries.
	26 August	Peter Ellis said Val Sim's review was a case of "the powers-that-be looking after themselves"
2003	8 June	Petition launched by 100 prominent New Zealanders requesting a Royal Commission of Inquiry
	10 June	Goff rebuffs petition, claiming a "requirement" for "new evidence", and saying petition based on "bad advice"
	24 June	Lynley Hood says that Goff is badly advised by his officials on need for "new evidence". "Goff needs moral courage and political will"
	24 June	Petition presented, including the name of one of the original complainants as well as judges, lawyers, politicians including previous Prime Ministers
	25 June	Goff unswayed by petition
	25 June	Publisher Barry Colman offers $100,000 reward for anyone providing information that could lead to a royal commission
2003	1 July	Lynley Hood claims that in Ellis case, justice system has failed and has been unable to self-correct
	1 July	Public pressure dictates the launch of a further more widely available public petition
2003	3 August	Barry Colman publishes two page advertisement in Sunday Star Times, providing unedited excerpts from the children's testimony. The so-called "Toddler Testimonies" provide the public for the first time an understanding of how the abuse stories were coerced from them from adults. Barry Colman later provides this site (www.peterellis.co.nz with fuller transcripts.
	3 August	Goff sees "nothing new" in advertisement
	9 August	Lynley Hood, author of "A City Possessed" earns doctorate in literature, for the series of books she has written. One examiner states that "A City Possessed" would have been sufficient in itself to earn the degree.
	10 August	Lynley Hood tells Phil Goff the 15 things he should know about the case.
2003	16 August	Two complainants, now teenagers, state that they stand by their original complaints
	20 August	Karen Zelas, psychiatrist who helped convict Peter Ellis blamed for causing a miscarriage of justice in another sex-abuse case.
	20 August	This site www.peterellis.co.nz publishes a Crown letter by Karen Zelas that the jury never got to see.
	25 August	Further allegation made against Ellis: A man identified as "Nathan" alleges on National Radio that he was abused by Ellis in late 1985 as a four year old. The police did not act on that allegation.
	26 August	Evidence presented that Ellis did not start working at the creche until almost a year later, proving that the new allegation is a lie
	3 Sept	First Petition goes to committee
2003	16 Sept	Goff wins "Bent Spoon award from Skeptic Society for refusing to revisit the Creche case.
	25 Sept	Lack of male teachers in primary schools blamed on the "Peter Ellis Syndrome" - the fear of men that they will be falsely accused of abuse
	6 October	Second petition presented
	10 December	Petitioners make submissions to Select Committee considering the Ellis petitions.
2004	3 January	Goff plans law change: Tougher pardon rules
	22 January	Goff plans law change: Jury verdicts will not have to be the result of a unanimous decision