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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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In November of 1976, the Christchurch Civic Creche on the South Island of New Zealand opened its doors for the first time and welcomed in children aged from 18 months to 5 years old. As an increasing number of women in New Zealand were returning to work after having children, there was a growing demand for early childhood education centres like the Civic Creche.
Located in the heart of the city, the creche was a collaborative undertaking by the city council and the Christchurch Technical Institute. Over the next decade and a half, the creche became so popular that parents would add their baby's names to a waiting list upon birth in the hopes they would be accepted when they were old enough to attend.
It was particularly popular with parents who worked in the many non-profit organisations that were based nearby, and the Kreisch attracted families who tended to be middle-class professionals with politically liberal attitudes. It was open between 7.30am and 5pm Monday to Friday and could take children on either a part or full day basis.
A brochure published in 1989 described the Civic Creche as providing "...quality childcare for children from many different racial, cultural, social and economic backgrounds. A full range of stimulating and creative activities are offered, with a special extension program for the four-year-olds."
Dekresha's central location meant that educators could take children on excursions to the botanical gardens, the Avon River, a local wildlife park, the town hall, and other Christchurch attractions. Children participated in both free play and more structured activities, and they had a Taha Māori program to teach the children about New Zealand's indigenous culture.
Every week, the creche highlighted a different theme, which was determined by the staff members at their monthly meetings. By 1991, there were 11 permanent staff that ranged in age from 20 to 53. All had at least one qualification that enabled them to work there. The creche's supervisor was Gay Davidson, who had a reputation for being kind and approachable.
On Wednesday November 20 1991, Gay was contacted by the mother of a three-year-old who attended the creche. The mother said that she suspected her son had been sexually abused by the creche's only male childcare worker.
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Chapter 2: What events led to the allegations against Peter Ellis?
Peter had worked at the Christchurch Civic Creche since 1986 when he was 28 years old. His career in early childhood education had come about in an unorthodox way. Peter had previously been employed at a bakery and was also receiving dole payments from the government.
When the New Zealand authorities realised Peter had received more money than he was entitled to, he was charged with misleading a social welfare officer and sentenced to 80 hours community service. Peter was given the option of completing his community service at an animal shelter or a creche. He chose the latter.
Peter soon began his service at the Christchurch Civic Kreisch, which was just a 20-minute walk from the large boarding house where he lived. Because the Kreisch had a philosophy of giving everyone a fair go, there was no stigma associated with Peter's sentence. He hadn't committed a violent crime and his offending wasn't of a serious nature. There were no barriers to him working with children.
But there had still been some initial concerns that Peter might not fit in or be accepted at the creche. Peter was bisexual during a time when it had recently been legal to discriminate against people based on their sexuality. He also expressed himself in an open way where others might have opted to be more muted.
Often described as flamboyant, Peter had long hair, wore brightly coloured clothes, and applied make-up. His fingers had long nails and were adorned with rings. And he was loud, with a biting sense of humour. But the Cretaceous accepting community welcomed Peter and he became a favourite of some parents and children alike.
Peter loved kids and they returned that affection, often begging him to play their favourite games. One mother was so impressed with Peter that she employed him to babysit her three and a half year old daughter as well.
Keen to stay on after his community service had concluded, Peter applied for the New Zealand Child Care Association's training course and in March 1987, Gay Davidson recommended him for a permanent position. However, there had been some issues that Gay had to pull Peter up on.
Although he was renowned for his sharp wit, sometimes his jokes verged on mean, particularly when directed at his colleagues. He was fond of a drink and had been known to sometimes drink too much. He loved his job but had trouble with authority sometimes. And while he enjoyed playing games with the kids, he had a tendency to overdo it at times.
Peter became known for the mattress game, an activity where he laid a mattress on the floor and lined children up in front of it. Then he'd hurl another mattress at them, tossing them backwards to be sandwiched between the two mattresses. The kids loved it and begged Peter to play the game, but after a couple of children knocked heads, Gay Davidson told Peter to stop.
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Chapter 3: How did the investigation into the Christchurch Civic Creche unfold?
None of these medical examinations resulted in definitive evidence of sexual abuse and none of the children were found to have any sexually transmitted illnesses. One child reportedly had possible scarring around her anus which the examiner said was supportive of the allegation of sexual abuse. A few children were described as having redness, inflammation and minor irritation.
By the end of March, five children had made formal allegations of sexual abuse by Peter Ellis. Geoffrey Magnolia, the child whose comments had sparked the initial investigation, was not one of them. Despite never obtaining a disclosure from the original complainant, Detective Colin Eade was ready to make an arrest. Monday March 30 1992 was Peter Ellis' 34th birthday.
That morning, Detective Ede and four other officers from the Child Abuse Unit arrived on his doorstep armed with a search warrant. Peter was arrested while officers began searching his home for documents, photographs or videos relating to the sexual abuse of children. They recovered nothing, despite returning again on another occasion to rip up the floorboards.
While Peter's home was being searched for evidence, he was transferred to the police station for questioning. Peter informed the police that he couldn't help them before calling his lawyer. In the presence of his attorney, he answered more questions and listened as details of the allegations were put before him.
Peter pointed out some errors in the children's claims, such as one girl describing him as wearing pairs of striped and spotted shorts, which he didn't own. Detective Colony disregarded this, stating, So she hasn't got the clothes completely right. That still takes us to the statements about the touching of her vagina. Did you ever do that? No, Peter replied.
How long do you think it might take to touch a child's vaginal area, the detective continued. I wouldn't know, because I have never done anything like that, Peter retorted. Despite his denials, Peter Ellis was charged with sexually abusing the five separate complainants.
He was granted bail the following day while being ordered to stay away from children and away from the creche as well as to observe a strict 7pm to 7am curfew. That same evening of Tuesday March 31, roughly 250 current and former Christchurch Civic Race parents crowded into a church hall for another meeting about the case.
There was a heavy police presence outside the building and the city's entire child abuse unit inside, including Detective Colin Eade. Hanging over everybody present was a heavy sense of anxiety and fear.
Parents were updated about the arrest of Peter Ellis, though investigators were cagey when asked what had actually happened, simply stating that the matter was now before the courts and couldn't be discussed. But they assured parents that counselling was available for anyone who required it and recommended that they have their children formally interviewed.
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Chapter 4: What were the key challenges during Peter Ellis's trial?
Police officers also testified about their investigations. They addressed something that people had long speculated about. How was Peter Ellis supposed to have abused these children in a busy creche where people were always coming and going without anyone ever seeing anything? More than 70 families used the creche each week and parents were known to show up at random throughout the day.
No adults, no colleagues or parents had ever seen Peter abuse a child. The police testified that there were areas Peter had access to where he could abuse children uninterrupted, like the toilets and in a kitchen area that required a key to access. Police also alleged that he had taken children out on walks to his home. Peter vehemently denied this allegation.
Two staff members were almost always present on walks outside of the creche. In addition to being questioned by the Crown attorneys, every witness was cross-examined by Peter Ellis' defence team and the four women's lawyers, who established that no physical evidence had been found to support any of the allegations.
Following up on Children's claims, investigators had searched the creche and other identified buildings for trap doors, secret tunnels, cages and child abuse material. They found nothing. nor had any graveyards been disturbed or links been uncovered to any other suspects, such as a group of Asian men.
All four female defendants dressed conservatively for the hearing, while Peter Ellis wore his usual casual clothes which made him look somewhat eccentric. The group passed notes between themselves throughout the hearing. Sometimes they made jokes and Peter drew comical cartoons about the proceedings.
One message read, I think we should publish a civic recipe book, needle tomato and poison soup, kitten stew, urine sorbet. The possibilities are endless. The sound of muffled giggling that sometimes emanated from the defence table angered others present.
In closing addresses, the defence attorneys argued that a jury trial could not proceed as there wasn't enough material evidence against their clients. On Thursday February 11 1993, the judge delivered his ruling. All five defendants would be committed to trial.
The judge dismissed four of the charges, including the one of public indecency that related to Peter Ellis and Debbie Gillespie allegedly having sex at the creche. But Peter and his four colleagues would have to answer for all the other charges in front of a jury. From the back of the courtroom, someone was heard remarking, Hang the bitches.
As the Crown began to prepare for trial, they had to decide exactly what evidence would be presented before a jury. That job fell to Crown solicitor Brent Stanaway. He began going over the evidence, assessing what was reliable and admissible as well as likely to result in a conviction.
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Chapter 5: What were the outcomes of the trial for Peter Ellis and the other defendants?
Quote, He is apparently homosexual. From the outset, he appeared to consider Peter Ellis a dangerous man despite no physical evidence that he had harmed any children. Although Ms Magnolia's complaint didn't lead anywhere, the case was reopened after a second child known as Mandy Arbutus made a disclosure.
Although Mandy hadn't attended the creche, she said she was abused when she and her mother went to pick up her younger siblings. Detective Ede found this allegation particularly alarming and thought it looked really serious. But Mandy's claims never resulted in any charges against Peter Ellis. Her mother withdrew Mandy from the case and made a complaint to the police at the same time.
She reported that Detective Ede had propositioned her. He later admitted to this, saying that he'd returned home after drinking heavily and received a phone call from Miss Arbutus. During that call he, quote, stupidly propositioned her. The next day he'd tried to pass it off as a joke, but he had meant it.
Detective Ede later went on to have romantic relationships with two other mothers involved in the case, though he said these occurred well after Peter Ellis' trial and incarceration. Peter Ellis had faced a lot of harassment and intimidation ever since the allegations against him first aired. His life was repeatedly threatened and a bullet was even mailed to him.
On one occasion, he was physically jumped and beaten up by four men who broke into his home. After he was incarcerated, it was expected that the danger would only increase. For the first month that he was incarcerated in Christchurch Men's Prison, commonly referred to as Paparua, Peter received constant abuse from other inmates. They taunted him to hang himself 24 hours a day.
But by the end of August, the situation had calmed somewhat as the other men at Paparua got to know Peter. A number of them were familiar with the case and didn't think Peter was guilty. One notorious individual who'd watched the trial coverage on the news was overheard remarking, ''That poor fuck has been set up.''
One day, a fellow inmate approached Peter and said, ''My mum thinks you're innocent.'' Some of the guards were sympathetic as well. One in particular told Peter he didn't belong in Paparua, before letting him out of his cell to do some odd jobs on the sly. Peter had never doubted that the entire matter would eventually be resolved in his favour.
From the moment he'd learnt that a child had made a comment about not liking his black penis, he assumed everyone would have to see that there was no case at all. Even when he found himself on trial in the High Court, Peter was certain his name would be cleared.
He never could have imagined that the end result would be a decade in prison and still couldn't believe anyone would think him capable of molesting children. Although some had thought it suspicious that he'd opted to work in a crèche over an animal shelter when he was a known animal lover, Peter had chosen the crèche because it was an easy walk from his house.
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