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They later became controversial for several reasons.

Anatomically correct dolls could increase suggestibility, leading children to guess at what an interviewer wanted when they handed them a doll that had genitals and asked them to describe touching.

They can also lead to an interviewer guessing at a child's demonstrations, which may merely be a form of play or an ambiguous action.

Daycare sex abuse hysteria also intersected with another moral anxiety taking place at the same time, the Satanic Panic.

Beginning in the USA in the 1980s, the Satanic Panic originated with the publication of a book titled Michelle Remembers.

Co-authored by a Canadian psychiatrist and his patient Michelle, whom he later married, the book detailed how Michelle recovered memories of extreme physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her mother, who worshipped Satan.

Much of these claims were later debunked, but the book ignited a spark throughout the US and the world.

Conspiracy theories spread about so-called satanic cults abusing and murdering children en masse, with daycare centres seen as the base for many such groups.

Social workers, police investigators, child advocates, and therapists began attending seminars by experts who taught them how to identify cases of occult and ritual abuse.

The children they questioned began to reflect what these professionals had been taught, describing outlandish and extreme events that couldn't be substantiated, were often impossible, and had no basis in reality.

Many trials resulted in convictions that were later overturned or not guilty verdicts due to a lack of evidence.

In the wake of these events, major reforms were made to interview techniques in child abuse cases.

These included the use of more open-ended questions such as, tell me what happened.

Bleeding questions were avoided, as were repeat interviews.

And praise for giving particular answers was dropped.

When Peter Ellis was arrested, New Zealand, and especially Christchurch, had been experiencing a kind of satanic panic for a while.

Christchurch was a conservative city known for its grand cathedral, English-style gardens and Edwardian architecture.

Religious groups such as the Christian Heritage Party were vocal in their opposition to social change.

But new influences were slowly changing the face of Christchurch, including a strong counterculture and artistic scene.

At the same time, fear that had cropped up overseas about satanic cults was spreading throughout New Zealand.