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Anonymous Host

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3873 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

Bart would later say that he had also been forced to kill another little boy named Andrew.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

The adults and other children had looked on as Bart used a knife to stab Andrew, who'd been placed inside a coffin.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

No trace of Andrew was ever found.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

More complainants named Gay and Marie as perpetrators and said they'd seen them at the Masonic Lodge where there were trap doors, underground tunnels, and cameras.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

Another staff member named Debbie Gillespie was also accused.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

The naming of the female crèche workers didn't come as a surprise to police.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

There had been suspicions about some of the women who worked at the creche from early in the investigation, but these were initially dismissed after the women presented well in interviews.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

However, a recent report had caused detectives to rethink things.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

After the allegations against Peter Ellis were first made, Christchurch City Council had commissioned a review of management practices at the creche.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

The review would be undertaken by Rosemary Smart, a registered psychologist who'd trained in education and social work and was assigned as an independent outsider.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

Smart's role wasn't to determine whether there had been any abuse.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

Instead, she was looking at the Kreischer's management and policies.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

The council hoped the report would restore the Kreischer's excellent reputation.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

Smart first met with Kreisch staff in March of 1992 and spent time observing them at work on a number of occasions.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

She interviewed each of them one-on-one and was given access to statements they'd provided to the police.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

She never met with Peter Ellis or observed him working with children.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

By the end of August 1992, Smart was ready to deliver her completed report.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

Although Peter Ellis was yet to stand trial, the report spoke of the abuse and his guilt as though both had been confirmed.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

It also contained detailed accounts of his deviant lifestyle, which she had allegedly been told about by his colleagues.

Casefile True Crime
Case 341: The Christchurch Civic Creche

Smart was also critical of the creche's female childcare workers, writing, On the one hand, all but one staff member was struggling to believe Ellis had abused anyone and frankly could not accept such abuse could have happened at the creche.