Peter Ellis

After almost 30 years since Peter Ellis was convicted of child sex abuse, today the Supreme Court has cleared his name.

After three decades as a convicted child abuser, childcare worker Peter Ellis has posthumously had his name cleared in a landmark Supreme Court decision.

It's tinged with sadness because Peter and his mum can’t be here to hear this but I’m heartened the family is here and they have had the chance to hear what’s been a very long time coming. His groundbreaking case is now the first time a conviction has been appealed and won by a dead person in Aotearoa. In 2003, the Christchurch psychiatrist and psychotherapist was blamed for a miscarriage of justice in another sex abuse case. Tikanga Māori is a holistic concept that describes, among other things, the values and protocols of te ao Māori. Several applications for the exercise of the Royal prerogative of mercy were also turned down, but did lead to a ministerial inquiry, which eventually determined in 2002 there was no proof his convictions were unsafe. Three of his convictions were set aside in 1994 by the Court of Appeal after one child recanted her evidence, but the overall appeal was dismissed. “If the jury had been correctly informed of the level of risk, that may have created a reasonable doubt about the allegations made, at least in relation to some of the complainants. That impression was compounded by the chart the Crown produced at trial, which was itself an unbalanced and unfair representation of the evidence it purported to summarise.” In the nearly three decades between the conviction and Ellis’ death, he appealed his convictions several times. The judgment found Zelas’ evidence understated or mischaracterised this risk, and was not counteracted. Ellis was convicted on 16 counts of sexual abuse against seven children in his care at the Christchurch Civic Creche in June 1993. He spent seven years in jail as a result of his convictions, but maintained his innocence up until his death from bladder cancer in 2019.

The Supreme Court has quashed the convictions of Peter Ellis saying there was a substantial miscarriage of justice in the case of the former creche worke.

The court of public opinion is often ill-informed and the facts are lost," they said. The two-week appeal went ahead last year. He was optimistic and grateful to the team of experts who had worked on his appeal case and to all the people who had worked with him and supported him over the 27-year battle. "We would also like to thank the police for all their work over the years and acknowledge and thank all the people who gave evidence in support of the children. "We as parents would like to acknowledge the Supreme Court's recognition in this latest decision, that the judgement was in no way a criticism of the parents, the complainants or those involved in the investigation or trial. "The judge and jury in the original trial believed the children, two appeals to overturn those convictions were lost and and a Commission of Inquiry upheld the verdicts. "Asking children at the age of five or six to give evidence in a court of law, after having had interviews with people they had never met, and had no reason to trust was always going to be a huge ask of both the children and their families. "The release of this judgment marks the end of a long and painful journey through the courts for the many people involved in this case," the Supreme Court said. It said the expert evidence had given the jury a false sense of reassurance that contamination risk was low, and that if evidence was contaminated the jury would be able to detect it. The Court concluded that while the risk of contamination was canvassed at the trial, the jury was not fairly informed of the level of the risk. The Court said the overall effect of Zelas' evidence was to incorrectly suggest to the jury that the presence of clusters of behaviours could support a conclusion that sexual abuse had taken place. The Supreme Court has quashed the convictions of Peter Ellis saying there was a "substantial miscarriage of justice" in the case of the former creche worker who was jailed for child sexual abuse in 1993.

It took 30 years but in a momentous decision the Supreme Court has finally quashed sex abuse convictions against the Christchurch creche worker.

[appeal to the Privy Council based in London](https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/67951985/peter-ellis-considers-privy-council-bid) would clear his name and reveal the truth. The leave was granted in July that year, but it [all appeared too little, too late](https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/114542552/former-civic-creche-worker-peter-ellis-last-bid-before-he-cancer-takes-him) when he died of bladder cancer several months later. The appeal also revealed none of the 21 children named by the seven children in their evidential interviews as other victims had confirmed the accusations. However, given the intense public interest in this case and the fact this Court has already granted leave to appeal, it is unlikely that not allowing the appeal to continue would in fact have meant finality for the complainants. Ellis was arrested in March 1992 and his trial started in April the next year. “If the jury had been correctly informed of the level of risk, that may have created a reasonable doubt about the allegations made, at least in relation to some of the complainants. At his trial, the list of 20 had been cut to 13. the majority judges were conscious of the very high level of stress and public scrutiny already suffered by the complainants and their whānau over such a long period. That impression was compounded by a chart the Crown produced at trial, which was itself an unbalanced and unfair representation of the evidence it purported to summarise. Additionally, the Court considered it was significant that Dr Zelas had expressed concern about possible contamination of the accounts of two complainants before trial, but expressed no such concern at the trial itself.” There was also a broader public interest in ensuring convictions only follow from fair trials and long-running public concern about the case existed. She also commented on the credibility and reliability of the children’s evidence, which was not permitted.

Two years after his death, and almost 30 years since first convicted, the Peter Ellis case comes to a close.

“The Supreme Court’s focus in this appeal was solely on conducting a careful analysis to evaluate whether a miscarriage of justice had occurred. A majority decision in today’s ruling – three judges to two – determined that “the colonial tests for incorporation of tikanga in the common law should no longer apply”. The court said that the judgment should not be read as a criticism of the parents, the complainants or those involved in the investigation and trial. A year later, in 1994, he went to the Court of Appeal in an effort to have his sentence dismissed. However, in a rare turn, the Supreme Court, relying in part on arguments embedded in tikanga Māori, permitted the appeal to continue posthumously. “We have found that the evidence before the jury in relation to both [section] 23G of the 1908 Act [the now outdated legislation dealing with evidence] and contamination was incorrect or misleading and, in the case of the former, some of it should not have been admitted,” ruled the court.

The Supreme Court has quashed the convictions of Peter Ellis, saying there was a "substantial miscarriage of justice" in the case of the former creche worker ...

And it was really great that the court was willing to show deference to the experts in this case." "Tikanga Māori is the first law of New Zealand and it's great to see it recognised in our highest court. They were caught up in the injustice - they didn't cause it. The court of public opinion is often ill-informed and the facts are lost," they said. He was optimistic and grateful to the team of experts who had worked on his appeal case and to all the people who had worked with him and supported him over the 27-year battle. The two-week appeal went ahead last year. "We would also like to thank the police for all their work over the years and acknowledge and thank all the people who gave evidence in support of the children. "We as parents would like to acknowledge the Supreme Court's recognition in this latest decision, that the judgment was in no way a criticism of the parents, the complainants or those involved in the investigation or trial. "Asking children at the age of five or six to give evidence in a court of law, after having had interviews with people they had never met, and had no reason to trust was always going to be a huge ask of both the children and their families. The parents of the children react to the decision "The release of this judgment marks the end of a long and painful journey through the courts for the many people involved in this case," the Supreme Court said. It said the expert evidence had given the jury a false sense of reassurance that contamination risk was low, and that if evidence was contaminated the jury would be able to detect it.

A lawyer thinks today's Supreme Court decision on the Peter Ellis case will have legal impact cross the nation. The court will deliver its decision at 2pm.

- Publish Date - Fri, 7 Oct 2022, 8:17am - Author

The parents of some of the children who accused Ellis of sexual abuse say they are shocked and saddened by the outcome, but Ellis' family is welcoming his ...

"It's at the highest level and we are all grateful. "Asking children at the age of 5 or 6 to give evidence in a court of law, after having had interviews with people they had never met, and had no reason to trust was always going to be a huge ask of both the children and their families. was, and he fought." "Some are too afraid and traumatised still, but we as parents want to speak out and say loud and clear once again. "I wish my brother was here because it was really what he deserved. The children who did go to court have carried a huge burden all these years, but they know that what they told the court was backed up by the other abused children who for a variety of reasons were unable to testify."

Today, in a unanimous verdict, the court's justices found a "substantial miscarriage of justice" had occurred as a result of unbalanced or inadmissible expert ...

The Supreme Court granted Ellis' legal team leave to appeal in 2019, but Ellis died of cancer weeks later. This was Ellis' third and final appeal. The majority of the judges also said the public interest in the case of Peter Ellis meant it was in the interest of justice to allow the appeal to proceed. Yet in the decision released today, the justices said the granting of the continued appeal was specifically tied to the circumstances of Peter Ellis, in terms of the public interest, concern and the possibility of a miscarriage of justice. The court stated that its judgement was not to be read as a criticism of the parents, the complainants or those involved in the investigation and trial. "With the benefit of hindsight, the court considered that the special care and attention required for a case of such unprecedented complexity was underestimated at the time of the investigation and trial and this resulted in a miscarriage of justice."

Friday's Supreme Court decision has left Peter Ellis' brother feeling both happy and sad - happy because he believes his brother is innocent, ...

I have no interest in having sex with children," Peter said before he died. He conducted himself so well throughout the whole scenario - he could have been bitter and twisted. "There's nothing you can do about that. "Mum was immensely proud of us all. "It's been such a long time... "In today's society it would never have even gone to court, but in the climate of the time he was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

New Zealand's supreme court has quashed the convictions of Peter Ellis, a Christchurch creche worker convicted of child sexual abuse in 1993 in a highly ...

In 2019, the supreme court granted permission to appeal again, but Ellis died a few months later, before the hearing. Ellis spent seven years in jail after being convicted in a 1993 jury trial on 16 counts of sexual offending against seven children who had attended the Christchurch Civic childcare centre, where he had been a teacher. On Friday, the court found a “substantial miscarriage of justice” had occurred.

Peter Ellis was convicted in 1993 of sexually abusing children at the Christchurch Civic Creche.

The Supreme Court said its judgement was not to be read as a criticism of the parents. Three of the judges - the Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann, Justice Susan Glazebrook and Justice Joe Williams held that it was in the interest of justice that the appeal continued. Therefore the court found a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred. In a highly unusual move, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal to go ahead posthumously. He always protested his innocence but two Court of Appeal hearings and a ministerial inquiry found the convictions stood. The Supreme Court found Dr Zelas’ evidence departed from appropriate standards.

Analysis - Legal experts say the weighing up of tikanga Māori in the decision to posthumously exonerate Peter Ellis of child sex offences marks a seismic ...

"While they need to refer it, while they might need to have an understanding of how it applies, the courts and judges are not the ones who determine what tikanga is. Judges need to be aware that they have neither the mandate nor the expertise to actually declare the content of tikanga. In a statement prepared for the court and attached to the ruling, tikanga experts Sir Hirini Moko Mead and Professor Sir Pou Temara wrote that, "there was concern expressed about ... But, significantly, considerations of tikanga and Ellis' continued reputation were incorporated into the end decisions, with each justice dwelling on it in their reasoning. This case gave something of a framework that would no doubt be tested in future. "Definitely. The Crown did not oppose the argument, agreeing that tikanga had a place in New Zealand law. That's a matter for Māori. For years, tikanga Māori has increasingly been recognised by courts and legislation, with then-Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias declaring in 2012 that "Māori custom according to tikanga is ... Because tikanga is an expression of rangatiratanga determined within iwi, hapū and marae. You see that explicitly commented on which I think is really important. And while the hefty document outlining the judges' thinking may not have been explicit, it provided a lot about the thinking behind tikanga's place in the common law of Aotearoa, and the explicit acknowledgement that tikanga is the "first law" of Aotearoa, predating the treaty.