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