Panic Spreads After a Child Accuses a Teacher | Forensic Files

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This episode features distressing subject matter pertaining to the sexual abuse of children. It will not be
suitable for all listeners. The names of several witnesses have been changed. [music]
In November of 1976, the Christ [music] Church Civic Crash on the South Island of New Zealand opened its doors for the
first time and welcomed in children aged from [music] 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
centers like the Civic Crash. Located in the heart of the city, the crash was a collaborative undertaking by
the city council and the Christ Church Technical Institute. Over the next decade and a half, the
crash became so popular that parents would add their baby's names to a waiting list upon birth in the [music]
hopes they would be accepted when they were old enough to attend. It was particularly popular with parents
who worked in the many nonprofit organizations that were based nearby, [music] and the cray attracted families
who tended to be middle-class professionals with politically liberal attitudes. It was open between 7:30 a.m. and 5:00
p.m. Monday to Friday and could take children on either a part or full day basis.
A brochure published in 1989 described [music] the Civic Crash as providing quality child care 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. [music] The CRA's central location meant
that educators could take children on excursions to the botanical gardens, [music] the Avon River, a local wildlife
park, the town hall, and other Christ Church attractions. [music] Children participated in both free play
and more structured activities. and they had a Taha Maui program to teach the children about New Zealand's indigenous
culture. [music] Every week the crash 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 CRA's [music]
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 CRA.
[music] The mother said that she suspected her son had been sexually abused by the CRA's only male child care
worker. [music] >> [music] >> The mother, who would later become known by the pseudonym of Ms. Magnolia
informed Gay Davidson that she would be keeping her son Jeffrey, not his real name, home from the crash until the male
employee was removed. Gay Davidson immediately leapt into action. She sought advice from the city
council administration and paid a visit to the Magnolia family home alongside a council personnel officer that same day.
Speaking to Ms. Magnolia and her husband [music] Gay received a clear report of what had unfolded.
Their three-year-old son, Jeffrey, had been exhibiting troubling behavior for some time. He could be prone to
tantrums, sometimes woke with pain in his legs, and could be fussy about his clothes. Sometimes he didn't want to go
to crash. He used the [music] words penis and vagina as insults. Ms. Magnolia had also noticed occasional
redness around his anus. About a month earlier, Jeffrey had said to his father, "I don't like Peter's
black penis." Peter seemed to refer to Peter Ellis, the male child care worker at Jeffrey's
crash, but 33-year-old Peter wasn't black. Jeffrey's father asked if he'd seen Peter's [music] penis or was he just
telling a story. Jeffrey answered the latter, so his father dropped the subject.
But Jeffrey made a similar remark to his mother on Sunday, November 17, while having a bath.
Like her husband, Ms. Magnolia probed Jeffrey with follow-up questions. Again, [music] Jeffree said he hadn't
seen Peter's penis. On Tuesday, November 19th, Jeffree told his grandmother that he didn't want to
go to Crash that day because he didn't like Peter's black penis. By now, Ms. Magnolia was highly
concerned. She herself was a survivor of sexual abuse and was now a social worker
who had written a handbook on the subject. Her son's repeated comments, combined
with his sometimes troubling behavior, suggested he may have been the victim of abuse. [music]
That night, she questioned Jeffrey again. "Will you tell me what happened with Peter and [music] his penis?" she
asked. "No, I won't," said Jeffrey. "Did Peter hurt you?" "No." "Did Peter scare
you?" "Yes." Jeffrey told his mother he didn't want to go to Crash anymore, but he'd go if
Peter was no longer there. Then his mother asked, "Was Peter's penis scary?" "It was dark scary," Jeffrey said. "If
Peter came to this house, he would be a monster. If he was a monster and he was here, you'd be asleep, Mom, in your bed,
and you'd wake up and see the monster, [music] and you'd be surprised." The Magnolia were asked to submit their
complaint in writing so that the council could initiate proper proceedings. Once they had the written complaint,
they would pass it on to Peter Ellis and his union and hold a hearing within 4 days.
In the meantime, Peter would be suspended on paid leave. The couple submitted their written
complaint that same day, concluding it by adding that they were worried for the safety of other children at the crash as
well. Gay Davidson was shocked and confused by the allegations. She couldn't believe Peter Ellis could
be capable of harming a child, but at the same time, she wondered, had something happened?
Peter had worked at the Christ Church Civic Crash 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 dull payments from the government. When the New Zealand authorities realized 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 crash. He chose the latter. Peter soon began his service at the
Christ Church Civic Crash, which was just a 20-minute walk from the large boarding house where he lived. Because
the crash had a philosophy of giving everyone a fair go, there was no stigma associated with Peter's [music]
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 crash. 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 a long hair, wore brightly
colored clothes, and applied makeup. His fingers had long nails and were adorned
with rings. And he was loud with a biting sense of humor. But the CRA's accepting community
welcomed Peter and he became a favorite of some parents and children alike. Peter loved kids and they returned that
affection, often begging him to play their favorite games. One mother was so impressed with Peter
[music] that she employed him to babysit her 3 and 1/2year-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 vered on mean, particularly when directed at his
colleagues. He was fond of a drink and had been known to sometimes drink too much. He [music] 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, [music] tossing them backwards to be sandwiched
between the two mattresses. The kids loved it and begged Peter to play the game. [music] But after a
couple of children knocked heads, Gay Davidson told Peter to stop. That wasn't the only boisterous game
Peter initiated. Another time he'd hung a little boy off the craters picket fence by his overalls
while a group of other kids clamored for him to hang them up too. Again, Gay told him that such activities
weren't appropriate. He was great with kids and knew how to make them laugh, but he didn't always
have the most sensitive approach. In February 1989, Peter had been issued a warning for not consoling a child who
was crying, for using excessive physical force and for being overly sarcastic in
a way that confused children. Peter disputed the details of this warning and [music] there were no
further issues after that. Overall, Gay had been very happy with Peter as a colleague. Now she found
herself torn between wanting to support him and wondering whether there might be
a reason she shouldn't. [music] Peter Ellis was notified of the allegations and put on leave while a
hearing was scheduled for the following Monday, November 25. There was a strict protocol that had to
be followed which meant that no one who knew about the complaint was permitted to say anything about it to anyone else
including Crash staff or parents. Peter Ellis adamantly denied any wrongdoing. He told others he couldn't understand
why Jeffrey Magnolia would make such a strange remark and wondered if it had something to do with a puppy Peter had
recently sold to the family. Peter loved animals and sometimes bred them. Two months earlier in September,
Ms. Magnolia had visited Peter Ellis's home with Jeffrey to buy a black puppy he was selling.
Jeffrey mentioned that he wanted to name the puppy Blossom. So, Peter turned the
puppy over to show Jeffrey that it was male. Pointing to the dog's genitalia, he
[music] said, "Look, it's a boy." Others speculated that Jeffrey might have overheard something he shouldn't
have, as Peter was known for making crude jokes about his private life to his colleagues.
He liked to shock the women he worked with by telling them outrageous things like how he participated in golden
showers, a sexual practice where one would urinate on one's partner. A couple of crash workers remembered
that a few months earlier in August, Peter had told them how he had used black markers to color in his
boyfriend's penis after his boyfriend came home drunk one night. They suspected the little boy had
overheard this conversation and not understanding it, was [music] troubled. Peter retained a lawyer and met with a
union representative who advised [music] Peter not to attend the hearing. Any allegations of possible sexual [music]
abuse was a matter for the police to investigate, not the council. Meanwhile, [music] a twoperson team from
the education review office visited the crash every day to closely monitor the goings on. They also interviewed between
20 to [music] 30 parents and city council officials. They found nothing untoward and gave the
crash a positive review, noting that the children appeared happy, inquisitive, and sociable, [music] and had high
self-esteem. On Monday, November 25, Jeffrey Magnolia was interviewed as part of the council's
investigation. The little boy made no disclosures about sexual abuse or Peter Ellis. The lack of
evidence against Peter meant the council was leaning towards reinstating him. Jeffrey's [music] parents refused to
accept this, however, and continued to pressure the council to fire Peter. One council official warned Ms. Magnolia
that spreading word of the allegation at this stage would be both defamatory and
inflammatory, but suggested she could file a police report. Ms. Magnolia replied that she already
had. She had phoned Christ Church's child abuse unit on the same day [music] as Jeffrey's interview and spoken to a
detective named Colony. She had also spoken to other crash parents about [music] the matter despite
being told not to later explaining I intentionally didn't listen to that because I have a strong belief that
[music] secrecy in sexual abuse cases keeps it happening and I felt it needed to be talked about.
I rang the parents of friends that Jeff played [music] with because I was concerned for those kids.
In response to Ms. Magnolia's report, Detective Colony began looking into the accusations.
Soon, he'd received complaints from three further parents. The detective didn't like the sound of
Peter [music] Ellis, and he was particularly suspicious of the way he'd obtained a position at the crash in the
first place. By all reports, Peter Ellis loved animals and owned many pets. Why then,
when given the option of completing his community service at an animal shelter, had he opted to volunteer at a crash
instead? It sounded like the action of a potential predator seeking easy access to vulnerable children.
Within a week of obtaining the complaint, Detective Eid advised the city council that he believed he was on
to something big. On Detective Eid's advice, an urgent meeting was planned to alert all Crash
parents that a staff member was under suspicion, [music] despite the council's stance that the
allegations should be withheld pending a full investigation. As it was, word had already gotten out
to some parents who had been calling social welfare agencies for answers. Detective Eid attended the meeting which
was held at the crash on Monday, December 2. Word of the meeting was somehow leaked to Christ Church
newspaper the press which ran a story that same day about Ellis's suspension with the headline allegations of abuse.
Roughly 100 parents attended the meeting, most of whom had been completely oblivious as to the
allegations. When Ms. Magnolia arrived. She paused in the doorway and burst into tears.
A couple of other parents rushed over to support her, escorting her to a seat. Concern spread amongst the others
present upon witnessing this scene. Detective Eid addressed the group, assuring them there was no need for
alarm, but there were some concerns. A staff member had been suspended. Based on Peter Ellis's absence from the
meeting, everyone quickly deduced that P was the staff member in question. An employee of the Department of Social
Welfare, or DSW, also spoke at the meeting. While she wouldn't discuss the allegations that had been made, she told
parents about warning signs they should watch out for in their children. Nightmares, [music]
tantrums, clinginess, and bedwedding. Physical symptoms to monitor included rashes and abrasions. [music]
They should also pay attention if their child was starting to exhibit any general behavioral changes, especially
behavior that seemed sexual in nature. She recommended books parents could read to their children that addressed sexual
abuse in an age appropriate manner, such as the 1983 publication, A Very Touching
Book by [music] therapist Jan Heindman. But parents were not to question their children themselves.
Interviewing children about sexual abuse required the expertise of trained specialists.
Over the course of the meeting, the mood became more volatile with some parents shouting that the council would have to
pay for what had happened. Other [music] parents took the opposite stance with one father remarking, "There's an
assumption of guilt here that I find very disturbing. A few people abruptly stood and left,
describing the situation as a witch hunt. From that moment on, the community was
split into two camps. Those who were certain that abuse had taken place and those who [music] weren't.
Supporters of the crash suspected that Peter Ellis was being unfairly targeted [music] due to homophobia and was being
scapegoed. Following the meeting, parents began to observe their children closely for the
signs listed by the DSW employee. Upon seeing them, some parents couldn't resist asking more direct questions.
None of the children made any disclosures about sexual abuse, though some complained about Peter's
roughousing. Sue Sidi, an employee with the DSW, conducted formal interviews with a
number of the children as well. None of them disclosed any inappropriate touching from any CRA staff [music]
members, though Sue felt cause for concern for six of the children. Detective Colony had provided parents
with his [music] contact details so they could reach out with any questions or concerns.
He was only called by one parent after the meeting. On Friday, December 20, exactly 1 month
after Ms. Magnolia had first raised [music] the alarm about Peter Ellis. Detective Eid closed the investigation,
noting in his report, "It is unlikely that these children will disclose sexual abuse. [music] The investigation is
complete as far as the police are concerned. If anything [music] further develops in
1992, I will advise you Despite the closure of the investigation, Peter Ellis was not
reinstated at the crash. Although Detective Colony never met with Peter Ellis or interviewed him, he had
notified the council that he was concerned by reports of Peter's rough behavior with the children.
Quote, "It is clear to me that Peter Ellis should not be involved in any way in the supervision or care of children.
I believe that we were very lucky to have this brought to our attention at this stage. If he had continued on at
the center, things could have got worse. Moreover, rumors were persisting and [music] two parents had unenrolled their
children from the civic crash, including Ms. Magnolia. She and a number of other parents had
formed a support group and continued to worry about children who had been in Peter's care, including four children
whom he was known to have babysat outside of the crash. They kept questioning their own children
about Peter and encouraged other parents to do the same. They read aloud from the
books that the DSW worker had suggested. At least one mother told her daughter that Peter had been very naughty and was
probably going to jail. On Thursday, January 30, a little over a month after the police investigation
into the allegations against Peter Ellis was closed, one child disclosed something to her mother.
7-year-old Mandy, not her real name, had never attended the crash, but her younger siblings had. Her mother,
referred to by the pseudonym of Missutus, was a social worker. She'd been an early supporter of Ms. Magnolia
and had helped organize the parents meeting 2 months earlier. Sometimes Mandy visited the crash with
her mother to collect her siblings. Mandy told her mother that Peter Ellis had abused her [music] during some of
these 5 to 10 minute windows. An interview with DSW worker Sue Sid was arranged.
Mandy told Susidy that she had been in the area of the crash for older children playing a xylophone when Peter Ellis
approached her on [music] stilts. When Sue interrupted to clarify if Peter was really on stilts, Mandy amended her
description and [music] said he wasn't before continuing. He came along and he touched touched
touched touched me touched [music] touched. Then I said no and then I ran away and so did him because he didn't
want to be [music] caught because I always knew it was him. Mandy indicated that Peter had touched
[music] her under her clothing and attempted to digitally penetrate her. Mandy's disclosure had an immediate
effect and resulted in Detective Colony launching a second investigation. More disclosures soon followed.
By late February, more and more children were making allegations which grew increasingly shocking in nature. Some
alleged that Peter Ellis had shown them his penis and forced them to perform oral sex. Others said he had touched
their genitals. He had poured water from a hose into a cup before ejaculating into it and making the children drink
it. He also forced them to drink his urine and eat his feces. One girl said the reason she hadn't
reported the abuse until now was because he just said, "Don't tell your parents or else you'll turn into a girkin and
get eaten up." She had seen Peter eat girkens before. Once she'd had one in her lunchbox, and
Peter had come along and stolen it. As the children disclosed these alleged abuses, some were referred for
specialist pediatric examinations. 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. Jeffrey Magnolia, the child whose comments had sparked the initial investigation, was not one of
them. Despite never obtaining a disclosure from the original complaintant, Detective Colony was ready
to make an arrest. Monday, March 30, 1992 was Peter Ellis's 34th birthday. That morning, Detective Eid 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, [music] 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 [music] replied. "How long do you think it might take to touch a child's vaginal area?" The
detective continued. "I wouldn't know [clears throat] 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 crash as well as to observe a strict 7:00 p.m. to 7:00
a.m. curfew. That same evening of Tuesday, March 31, roughly 250 current and former Christ
Church Civic Crash 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 [music] inside,
including Detective Colony. Hanging over everybody present was a heavy sense of anxiety and fear.
Parents were updated about the arrest of Peter Ellis, though investigators were cy 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 counseling was available for anyone who required it
and recommended that they have their children formally interviewed. Parents were also encouraged to go home
and ask their children questions about possible abuse while not being too specific.
If a child did disclose an offense, parents should thank [music] them for sharing, reassure them that they hadn't
done anything wrong, and notify DWS immediately. Suicide again listed symptoms of abuse
that parents should watch out for and spoke in a very emotional fashion. This added to the overall atmosphere of
anger and panic. Some parents began to ask questions that suggested they felt they were being lied
to by the council. One parent [music] demanded to know if other staff members had been involved.
A four-page booklet was passed out to attendees as they left, providing them with information about child sexual
abuse, as well as information about counseling, medical examinations, and possible compensation.
In the days that followed this meeting, roughly 60 parents phoned a specially coordinated police hotline to request
videotaped [music] interviews for their children. It would take DSW employees and
detectives several months to conduct them all with up to five children being interviewed each day.
By the end of May 1992, [music] police had uncovered eight new complainants, bringing the total number to 13.
One new complainant was a former student called Eli Lurel, not his real name, who'd left the crash to attend school
that year after turning five in 1991. He started out by talking about Peter Ellis as being sometimes bad and
sometimes good. [music] When asked what Peter did that was bad, Eli said he dipped people in the ponds.
Peter was known for sometimes dipping the children's hair in paddling pools and water troughs on a hot day.
Gradually, Eli disclosed more, saying that Peter did we in people's faces [music] and placed his penis in Eli's
mouth. Another new complainant was Zelda Cyprus, not her real name, who was also
a former student [music] and the oldest of the complainants at 9 years old. Zelda had attended the Christ Church
Civic CRA for 2 years and had also been babysat by Peter Ellis around Christmas of 1986 shortly after he'd started
working there. Zelda gradually revealed that Peter had abused her while babysitting her at his
home. He'd exposed himself and Zelda later said he'd touched her inappropriately as well.
More children made additional disclosures about Peter making them consume urine and feces and touching
their genitalia. One girl said Peter had raped [music] her. The 13th complainant was a little
boy who would become known by the pseudonym of Bart Dogwood who started attending the crash in 1989 when he was
almost three. Initially, when his mother had asked if Peter had ever touched him
inappropriately, [music] Bart had replied, "Peter wouldn't do that to me. He's my friend."
But over the coming weeks, after he [music] was questioned again, Bart said Peter had touched his penis while
cleaning him up after he went to the toilet. More social workers and experts had been
added to the case as it grew. In May of 1992, [music] a DSW social worker named Jan Galandis
was tasked with supporting the families who had been involved in court proceedings.
Jen Crossen, [music] a nurse with social work experience, was appointed to support past and present
Creree families who were [music] not going to court. The two women would spend much of the
next year visiting families, liazing with investigators and therapists, and attending the meetings of various
support groups that had sprung up around the case. They also provided families with
information about child sexual abuse, pulling together a range of helpful books [music] on the subject.
The presence of Jan Ganders and Jang Crossen led to some families who'd initially refused the offer of
interviews to change their minds. The case had also become a big news story. An initial suppression order that had
kept Peter Ellis's name out of the media had been dropped, and stories regularly
ran about him. Throughout winter, the number of complainants continued to grow until
there were 20. Roughly 8,000 pages of evidence had been received with more to come.
Jeffrey Magnolia, the child whose initial comments sparked the case, had clammed up about the subject when
interviewed by police, so he wasn't a complainant. But he would occasionally still refer to
Peter when talking to his mother. One day in late June, he was [music] walking with his parents when they
passed the Masonic Lodge. Jeffrey pointed at the building and said that Peter had taken him there. A short
while later, he pointed at a manhole cover on the road, remarking that Peter had pushed children inside to where
there were caged gorillas underground. Ms. Magnolia was concerned about these remarks. She began to keep lists of
things such as this that Jeffree said and notified detectives. At the end of July, she walked Jeffrey
past the Masonic Lodge again. Once more, Jeffree said he'd been there along with
a number of other places, the Botanic Gardens, car parks, some hotels, hospitals, and bridges amongst many
more. Ms. Magnolia noted all of these places on her lists as well as something else.
Descriptions of other people who had supposedly participated in the abuse. These included bad men, some women, Maui
men, a man with a ponytail, [music] and Peter Ellis's mother. Now fear was starting to spread that
Peter Ellis hadn't acted alone. Another meeting was [music] held where Detective Colony and a colleague spoke
to parents about these new allegations. They would need more information before they could identify any other possible
perpetrators. Copies of Ms. Magnolia's lists were distributed so that parents could ask
their children about the places and people described. By early August 1992, another child was
making disclosures in line with Jeffree Magnolia. Bart Dogwood had previously stated that
Peter had molested him while tidying him up after he went to the toilet. He'd disclosed this almost 15 months after
he'd stopped attending the crash after his concerned mother began questioning him.
When she received the lists of possible other locations where abuse had taken place, she took Bart to the large
boarding house that had previously been Peter Ellis's home and parked outside. observing her son as he looked at the
building. She was certain that he recognized it and took him back for another DSW interview.
There, Bart said that he'd taken a bath with Peter in a house. Peter had sworn at him, threatened his family, raped
him, made Bart masturbate him, and forced the boy to weed his feces. There had been some other men present,
but Bart didn't know who they were. Bart's parents were sure that more had happened.
Over the past few months, Bart had been experiencing behavioral issues. He was refusing to use the toilet, instead
soiling himself and had mood swings. Certain he'd experienced more than he'd revealed, they continued to question
their son at home. Two days later, on Thursday, August 6, they took him back for another interview
where he spoke in more detail about abuses he'd experienced in Peter Ellis's flat.
20 adults had been present, including Peter and his mother. There were also 15 men that Bart described as Asian in
appearance. They were dressed in black and white costumes and danced in a circle around several naked children in
some kind of ritual act. There were also three other women present who participated in the abuse.
Two of the women undressed and pretended to have sex while Peter and his mother took photos.
Unlike the Asian men, Bart knew who these women were. They were other child care workers from
the crash. Their names were Gay Davidson, Marie Keys, and Janice Buckingham. Bart had also named some of the children
present at this bizarre [music] scene. As word of his disclosures spread, these children were questioned. Worried
parents grilled their kids and took them on field trips to the same locations, trying to prompt any recollections.
[music] Some of the other complainants began making similar reports to Bart. They agreed that they had been harmed at
Peter Ellis's home and the Masonic lodge other victims had identified. and they also echoed Bart's description
of the Asian men who had danced around naked children, which became known as the circle incident.
New details of various assaults kept coming. [music] Adults had taken photographs, pricricked
them with needles, and drugged them with pills. Fingers, food, and sticks [music] were
inserted into the children's orififices. Once Peter had swung a child around a prickle bush by his penis.
Animals featured heavily in some disclosures. There were [music] descriptions of Peter
killing and cooking kittens, then feeding them to the children. He kept a pet giraffe at his house [music] and
sometimes he would tie up the children and confine them in cages alongside lions.
Once he turned a child into a frog and a cat. This reference [music] to a supposed
spell wasn't the only allegation of a cult-like behavior. Children said they had to chant, perform
mock marriages, and were buried in graveyards. They had blood poured over their heads and were forced to consume
[music] what they thought was human flesh. Bart would later say that he had also
been forced to kill another little boy named Andrew. [music] The adults and other children
had looked on as Bart used a knife to stab Andrew, who'd been placed inside a coffin.
No trace of Andrew was ever found. 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.
Another staff member named Debbie Gillespie was also accused. [music] The naming of the female crash
workers didn't come as a surprise to police. There had been suspicions about some of
the women who worked at the crash from early in the investigation, but these were initially dismissed after the women
presented well in interviews. However, a recent report had caused detectives [music] to rethink things.
After the allegations against Peter Ellis were first made, Christurch City Council had commissioned a review of
management practices at the crash. The review would be undertaken by Rosemary SM, a registered psychologist who
trained in education and social work and was assigned as an independent outsider.
Smart's role wasn't to determine whether there had been any abuse. Instead, she was looking at the CRA's management and
policies. The council hoped the report would restore the CRA's excellent reputation.
Smart first met with CRA staff in March of 1992 and spent time observing them at
work on a number of occasions. She interviewed each of them one- on-one and was given access to statements they'd
provided to the police. She never met [music] with Peter Ellis or observed him working with children.
By the end of August 1992, Smart was ready to deliver her completed report. Although Peter Ellis was yet to stand
trial, the report spoke of the abuse and his guilt as though both had been confirmed.
It also contained detailed accounts of his deviant lifestyle, which she had allegedly been told about by his
colleagues. Smart was also critical of the CRA's female child care workers, [music]
writing, "On the one hand, all but one staff member was struggling to believe Ellis had abused anyone and frankly
[music] could not accept such abuse could have happened at the crash. And yet, individually, each one carried
information about his behavior that would send alarm bells screaming in the head of anyone with the [music]
slightest clue about child sex abuse. Some of the remarks divulged by Peter's colleagues [music] included concerns
about Peter's drinking and his ability to babysit children outside of work. He had reportedly mentioned that an uncle
had abused him when he was 8 years old, but it was okay because he knew what he was doing.
There were reports that Peter had made inappropriate comments about children's bodies and the size of the boy's
penises. I thought he was perverted. One employee said he told me [music] explicit details
of the men and women he slept with. He likes to flaunt his sex life. Smart suggested
because he behaved and spoke somewhat outrageously and possibly because he was bisexual, [music] he was seen as
different. Therefore, for both staff and parents, [music] the usual boundaries did not
seem to apply. Smart was critical of the staff for what she believed was their total lack of
training in sexual abuse prevention and detection. [music] She also quoted research from a 1987
book by American sociologist David Finkelhaw titled [music] Nursery Crimes. Finkelhoor's book deals with the issue
of child sexual abuse within daycare centers with a particular emphasis on ritual abuse and abuse by female
workers. It had become something of a go-to manual on the topic for social workers
and [music] sexual abuse experts. Christ Church police had received a copy of Smart's report at around the same
time that children started naming the female crash employees as perpetrators alongside Peter Ellis.
Investigators had looked into Peter's mother, Leslie Ellis, after some of the children included her in their
accusations, but they ultimately concluded that there wasn't enough evidence to implicate her.
They narrowed their focus to the other crash workers instead with Smart's work going some way to convincing the child
abuse unit detectives that they needed to investigate the women there. They also needed to take action to
prevent the abuse of any more children. Four women's names had come up during disclosures and all four still worked at
the crash. On Thursday, September 3, 1992, the Christ Church civic crash was abruptly
and permanently closed by the Ministry of Education. All 13 of its staff members were made
redundant. By now, the case had become a media circus. Rumors about what had been going
on at the Crash were running rampant. Some reporters heard that CRA employees had been importing live snakes from
Australia for use in rituals and stealing terminated fetuses from an abortion clinic, then eating them. It
was said that children were being trafficked for quote Asian sex rings. Peter Ellis and now his female
colleagues became the targets of public rage. One CRA employee who was in her early
20s was told at the supermarket that she and everyone else who'd worked at the CRA should have the words child molester
tattooed across their foreheads. Police from the child abuse unit obtained search warrants for the homes
of the four female crash workers who had been implicated in the abuse as well as
another employee who hadn't been. Rather than go to the district court nearby, they opted to travel to the
Christ Church suburbs to obtain permission from an elderly judge. He signed their warrants, which indicated
that they would be looking for address books, pornography, and the remains of human babies, amongst other things.
Nothing of significance was found, though. At Debbie Gillespy's house, police recovered a handwritten note that
joked about children watching through a home's window at a couple having sex. In Gay Davidson's office at the Crash,
police found two letters, both of which were declining job applications. One of the letters joked that as the CRA
already employed one pedophile, they didn't need another. Despite the lack of physical evidence,
all four female [music] suspects were arrested on Thursday, October 1, in publicly televised events.
Not wanting any of their former colleagues to fall under suspicion, the four female suspects opted against
having their names suppressed. Their faces were splashed across newspapers and the Daily News, revealing
that they all looked very different from one another. 39-year-old Gay Davidson was a mother of
two with street hair who'd worked at the crash for 8 years and had been its supervisor for the last four.
Marie Keys, 44 years old, was the assistant supervisor and had two teenage daughters. [music] She was petite,
described as kindly and dressed conservatively. [music] Mother of four, Janice Buckingham was
also 44 with a tall, strong build. Debbie Gillespie was 29 years old and wore long flowing dresses. [music] She
had been at the crash for 4 years and was the head of its nursery looking after the youngest children.
Although three of these women were mothers, they were never investigated for possible abuse against their own
children, nor deemed unsafe for their children to be around. On Monday, November 2, 1992, one month
after the women's arrest, a deposition hearing for all five defendants [music] began.
Both sides would make their cases before a judge who would determine if there was
enough evidence to proceed to the high court. The defendants were facing a total of 60
charges of sexual offending against 20 children. Peter Ellis had been charged with 26
counts of indecent assault, 12 counts of sexual violation, six counts of inducing
an indecent act, and one count of performing an indecent act in a public place. Gay Davidson, Marie Keys, and Janice
Buckingham were each facing three counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual violation for assaulting children
during the circle incident. Debbie Gillespie was charged with one count of indecent assault, one of sexual
violation, and one of public indecency. It had been alleged by a child that she and Peter Ellis had had sex on the CRA's
bathroom floor. An angry crowd had gathered outside the court to make their feelings about the
defendants known. [music] There was no doubt in their minds that all five were guilty of unspeakable
acts. But inside the court, very few people were present. There were so many potential witnesses
in the case that most people even tangentially connected to it were expecting to be called as witnesses.
They wouldn't be able to sit in the public gallery until they had given their evidence.
But the media was allowed to stay. In the end, only 47 out of 92 potential crown witnesses were called to give
evidence, meaning almost half wouldn't be testifying. Nevertheless, it took 11 weeks to
complete the deposition hearing, which was a slow and arduous process. It began with roughly 40 hours of
videotaped interviews of the children being screened in court. Then the DSW interviewers were called upon to give
evidence. Four medical practitioners testified about examinations they'd performed on
the children, stating that they hadn't found anything that definitively proved or ruled out sexual abuse.
They testified to identifying symptoms consistent with abuse, though their findings were inconclusive and sometimes
contradictory. During one examination, a doctor found that a female complainant's highman
appeared to have been penetrated, but in a follow-up appointment, she later found
the child's hyman showed no such thing. 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 crash where people were always coming and going without anyone ever seeing
anything? More than 70 families used the crash 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 crash. In addition to being questioned by the Crown attorneys, every witness was
cross-examined by Peter Ellis's defense 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,
[music] investigators had searched the crash and other identified buildings for trap doors, secret tunnels, cages, and
child abuse material. They found nothing, nor had any graveyards been disturbed [music]
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, [music] kitten stew, urine sorbet. The possibilities are endless."
The sound of muffled giggling that sometimes emanated from the defense [music] table angered others present.
In closing addresses, the defense attorneys argued that a jury trial could not proceed as there wasn't enough
material evidence against their clients. On [music] Thursday, February 11, 1993,
the judge delivered his ruling. All five defendants would be committed to trial.
The [music] 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 crash. 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 Stanway.
He began going over the evidence, assessing what was reliable and admissible, as well as likely to result
in a conviction. Stanway ultimately decided against calling upon six of the 20 complainant
children whose claims had either been dismissed at the deposition hearing or were determined to be too weak.
A couple of the complainants were also withdrawn from the case by their mothers.
This led to no charges remaining against Debbie Gillespie as her two remaining charges related to one of these
children. The case against a Debbie was dropped and on Friday, March 5, 1993, she was
officially discharged. Brent Stanaway also reduced [music] the number of charges remaining that related
to other complaintants. Some multiple charges were blended into a single charge. This led to the three
equal charges against Gay Davidson, Marie Keys, and Janice Buckingham being reduced into just one charge.
With his clients now facing a single charge, the women's defense attorney applied to have their case dismissed,
arguing that no jury properly directed could find them guilty. Justice Neil Williamson, who was
presiding over the trial, accepted this submission. On Tuesday, April 6th, the charge
against the three women was dropped with the Justice Williamson finding the evidence against them, quote, of
insufficient weight to justify their trial. That left just Peter Ellis to stand trial alone.
His charges had been significantly reduced during the preliminary trial process as well. The 45 charges he'd
originally faced were whittleled down to 28 and [music] the number of complaintants had dropped from 20 to 13.
He was accused of having abused these children over 5 years from 1986 to 1991. The crown solicitor had offered to
cancel all of the sexual violation charges if Peter agreed to plead guilty to one or two representational charges
per complainant. But Peter had refused. His trial began on Monday, April 26th, 1993.
Some of the most bizarre accusations made by the complainants had not been included in the charges, such as the
claims of animal torture, murder, and satanic style rituals. With no corroborating or material
evidence to support these claims, the prosecution concluded that airing them might undermine their case or prove
off-putting to the jury. However, the circle incident would still be included with the crown alleging that
Peter Ellis had abused children at an unknown location in the presence of others and had provided other adults
with children to abuse. Peter Ellis's defense barristister, Rob Harrison, wanted the children's
videotaped interviews played in full. He hoped that if the jury heard their wilder allegations, then it would cast
reasonable doubt on their testimony and the case. To Harrison's disappointment, the judge ruled that the tapes were not
relevant and were therefore inadmissible. The crown would first be calling on the
13 complainants, all of whom were aged between 3 and 1/2 to 9 years old, and their parents.
They would be followed by other witnesses, including police officers, DWS interviewers, and experts.
The first witness was 9-year-old Aelda, the oldest of the complainants. She alleged that Peter Ellis had touched
her vagina while babysitting her in 1986, had done so again at the crash, and had also forced her to touch his
[music] penis. The following two witnesses were girls who alleged that Peter had touched their
genitals at the crash while they were fully dressed. The complainants who followed made increasingly violent
allegations. Four said that Peter had urinated on them. One said he had touched her bottom
with a needle. There were accusations that Peter had made children bathe with him, had hit
and kicked them, attempted oral and penetrative rape, placed food against a child's anus, and forced them to drink
urine. The prosecution shared these allegations with the court by airing excerpts of the
children's taped interviews, then questioning the children briefly via video link.
After this, Peter Ellis's defense barrista cross-examined them. Rob Harrison asked about positive
memories the children had of Peter and tried to expose ways that their evidence might have been contaminated by outside
sources, such as the abuse themed books provided to parents or conversations they might have overheard in the
community. [music] When Harrison told the children that Peter denied ever harming them, their
responses were mixed. That's not true, one said. [music] He did, said another. But one responded,
it's very hard to remember. I know very well some are true. And then I think, is
that one true or what? While questioning the eighth complainant, [music] Harrison asked her, "Can you remember
the first two tapes you made with DWS interviewer Kathy Crawford?" "We first learned about all the things
Peter did, [music] and then we came on screen and did it," the girl replied. "You learned it all before you came on
the [music] screen," Harrison clarified. "Yes, who taught it to you before you came on
the screen? The girl answered, "Kathy." And she told me what Peter did. Following this, the judge discharged
Ellis of the counts relating to this particular child. The prosecution's expert witness was a
child psychiatrist named Karen Zealus, who had supervised the social workers responsible for the children's
interviews. She provided the court with a list of behaviors that were characteristic of
child sexual abuse, including sleep disturbances, nightmares, toileting issues, mood changes, headaches, stomach
aches, sadness, crying, separation anxiety, sexualized play, and others. She explained that most children who had
been sexually abused failed to disclose at the time the abuse was happening and would initially deny when later
questioned about it. According to Dr. Zealous, the complainants in this case were credible and their behavior was
consistent with having been sexually abused. Under cross-examination, Rob Harrison
asked Dr. zealous about a television interview she'd done about the case a year earlier in which she'd been asked
if there was a danger parents might start imagining behavioral changes in their child after fear of sexual abuse
spread Dr. Zeal had answered yes there is questioned in the courtroom she claimed
not to remember this interview to counter Dr. zealous. The defense called Australian psychiatrist Keith
Laage, who said the behavioral changes described [music] weren't exclusive to suffering sexual abuse and could be all
part of normal child development. Some of Peter's former colleagues testified for the defense, as did seven
cray parents who still supported him. More had wanted to, but felt unable to do so given the heated nature of the
case. [music] Some had felt pressure from their community to have their children
interviewed and later regretted giving in, feeling that the interviews themselves were the only trauma their
children experienced related to the crash. Peter Ellis also sat in the witness box
to answer the charges laid against him. He spoke at length about his work at the
crash and the children there. Under an extensive cross-examination, the Crown attacked his credibility by
pointing out apparent inconsistencies in his testimony [music] and drew the jury's attention to opportunities he'd
had to be alone with children. They queried Peter about conversations he'd had with colleagues relating to
sexual matters, such as him once telling Janice Buckingham that he used a Polaroid camera to make pornography.
Peter Ellis explained that he liked to have people on and [music] would bait them with provocative claims.
His defense barrister pointed out that not one of the children in the case had [music] made a spontaneous disclosure of
abuse. They had only said they were abused after repeated questioning by authority figures.
Nor had any parents noticed any signs of trauma or evidence of abuse such as blood or injuries.
The jury retired to consider their verdict on Thursday, June 3, and spent almost 3 days deliberating.
They returned with the decision at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 5. They had found Peter Ellis guilty on 16
out of 25 counts and accepted that he had sexually abused seven children, including those known by the pseudonyms
of Zelda Cyprus and Bart Dogwood. This abuse was sometimes committed in the presence of others at locations
outside of the crash, and Peter had also provided children for [music] abuse by others.
In sentencing, Justice Williamson described [music] the jury's verdict as obviously correct before informing Peter
Ellis that he would be going to prison [music] for 10 years. In the wake of Peter Ellis's conviction,
feelings throughout Christ Church were mixed. As far as some were concerned, a huge miscarriage of justice had just
taken place. And it was the result of a dangerous trend occurring both at home and more broadly around the world.
Thanks to a number of social shifts that had been taking place from the 1970s onwards, the issue of child sexual abuse
was being addressed and acknowledged more than it ever had been before. The activism of second-wave feminists
had shone a spotlight on topics that were previously hidden behind closed doors. Domestic violence, marital rape,
incest, and sexual assault. This created space for survivors to speak out and reframed the offenses as a
societal problem. This affected the attitude surrounding crimes against children too. In the
midentth century, some influential psychiatric theories had minimized or doubted children's reports of sexual
abuse. Between the 1940s and60s, child sexual abuse wasn't believed to be widespread
and was thought to only affect certain social groups. Some people even believed that abuse
caused no lasting harm. But by the 1970s and 1980s, attitudes were changing. Believed the children
became a rallying cry for child advocates around the world, and it was becoming widely accepted and understood
that there were predators out there who specifically targeted minors. Legal reforms started to strengthen
child protection agencies, and more professionals were trained to detect abuse indicators and interview child
victims. At the same time that social progress was bringing these issues to light and
granting more rights to women and children, a cultural anxiety kicked in during the 1980s.
With more women returning to work after having children, fears spread about what
that meant for changing family structures. Some of these fears centered around a
service that was now being used by more and more families, daycare. For the first time, many children were
being cared for by relative strangers outside of the home. As awareness grew around child sexual abuse, suspicion
began to land on those tasked with providing child care. Over time, this anxiety resulted in a
moral panic that became known as daycare sex abuse hysteria. It led to criminal investigations and
trials in the United States, England, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, where daycare providers were accused of
committing extensive sexual abuse. These cases often began with one parents concerns and grew as a kind of contagion
swept through a community. A fear that abuse might be missed led to child protection workers and law
enforcement officers treating initial suspicions as potentially massive conspiracies.
Although there have been cases of child care workers sexually abusing children, [music] cases that fell under the
umbrella of daycare sex abuse hysteria were often marked by a lack of physical evidence. an incredibly large number of
victims that only began to disclose under repeated questioning and pressure and typically featured bizarre,
implausible scenarios. Because child abuse was still becoming understood, investigators hadn't honed
their interview techniques when it came to potential victims. In several cases, children were interviewed many times
over months with interviewers sometimes asking leading or forced answer questions.
Children who eventually confirmed abuse were rewarded with praise and attention,
while those who said nothing had happened often weren't believed. Instead, they were questioned over and
over, being pressured to disclose. Moreover, the panic that spread through a community when rumors of abuse took
hold was known to cause what was called contamination in interviews. Children's answers could be influenced by
conversations they'd had with their parents, friends, or that they'd overheard. Research later showed that the
interviewing styles used in many of the daycare sex abuse hysteria cases could increase false reports, distort memory,
encourage children to guess, [music] and create narrative escalations where a story grew increasingly wild.
Developmental psychologists have found that young children are highly suggestible, especially under repeated
questioning by authority figures. Cambridge University professor Michael Lamb, an expert on interviewing child
abuse victims, has said that while children can be competent witnesses, they are susceptible to making errors
during interviews when they infer that an interviewer is looking for a particular answer.
Sometimes they want to help but can't understand the questions they are being asked. They can also become confused
about the source of their memories for particular events. Interviewers during the 1980s and early
1990s also made use of anatomically correct dolls which children could use to demonstrate abuse that they might
struggle to describe verbally. These dolls were used in the Christurch civic crash case.
They later became controversial for several reasons. Anatomically correct dolls could increase suggestability,
[music] 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. [music] 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 [music] of extreme physical and sexual abuse at the hands
of her mother, who worshiped 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 on mass with daycare centers seen as the base for many such groups.
Social workers, police investigators, child advocates, [music] 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 [music] 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." Leading [music] questions were avoided as were repeat interviews
and praise for giving particular answers was dropped. When Peter Ellis was arrested, New
Zealand and especially Christ Church had been experiencing a kind of satanic panic for a while.
Christ Church was a conservative city known for its grand cathedral, Englishstyle 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 Christ Church, 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. Books, magazines, and other media shared stories about a cult abuse, and
individuals working in relevant fields began hearing more about the topic from overseas colleagues.
An American therapist named Pamela Klene, who was a witness in a number of ritual abuse cases in the US, spoke at a
conference in Wellington about diagnosing ritual abuse. She was later found to have exaggerated
and even falsified her qualifications. In September 1991, 11 weeks before Ms. Magnolia called the crash to report a
possible case of abuse. Christ Church was hosting a family violence conference. Included in the schedule were some
workshops about ritual abuse. Two counselors from the city of Wellington told attendees that there
were middleclass pedophile rings operating throughout the country. Even though no actual cases had been
uncovered, they had interviewed three victims and 20 others had sought help. They pointed to similar cases in the
United States where there was talk of satanic ritual abuse taking place on a grand scale.
On the same night that the conference began, New Zealand's 60 Minutes program ran a story about a pedophile ring that
was rumored to be present in Christ Church. The rumors dated back to 1988 when a
doctor first reported that child patients were telling horrific stories about sexual abuse perpetrated by
multiple offenders against groups of victims. After repeated interviews with police,
the children began to report being taken to private homes and gay bars where they
were abused, filmed, and threatened. Lots of adults were present as well as lots of other children.
They described vehicles driven by the offenders and gave physical descriptions of their abusers.
Principles of schools throughout the city were warned that their students were possibly being recruited for a
quote child pornography ring. In August 1988, 30 police officers executed simultaneous search warrants at
six different properties. An elderly man at one residence was found to possess naked photos of
underage girls and was subsequently arrested. None of the other searches produced
results. Although police worked hard, they couldn't find any evidence of the pedophile ring everyone was talking
about. But rumors of the ring continued to circulate with some Christurch residents certain that there was an
underground community of gay men who were producing and distributing child abuse material.
This persisted [music] despite the police reassuring them that they had investigated the case extensively and
had even looked into a number of high-profile businessmen whose names had been reported.
The case was still sending fear through the community in 1991, prompting 60 Minutes to cover the story in September
of that year. Journalist Melanie Reed spoke to various experts who assured her there was a serious problem, though they
were unable to provide evidence of the pedophile ring in question. The episode added to the climate of fear
that had parents convinced that there was a wellorganized, well-hidden group of child molesters operating with
impunity throughout their city. Less than 3 months later, the Christ Church Civic Crash would be investigated
for crimes that sounded a lot like these. The subject of ritual abuse was one that
a number of parents in the civic crash case were familiar with. Quite a few of the complainant parents
worked in child abuse related professions such as social work, therapy, and counseling.
Of the seven complainants whose evidence resulted in convictions, three had one or more parents who worked in those
fields. In a climate of heightened awareness, parents with these backgrounds may have
been more inclined to interpret certain child behaviors through an abuse lens. Moreover, in these circles, there was
the possibility of a professional consensus developing that abuse was definitely happening.
Ms. Magnolia, the mother who initially alleged that Peter Ellis had molested her son Jeffrey, was seen by some to
have a fixation with sexual abuse. She had recovered memories of her own childhood abuse and went on to write a
pamphlet that warned about the epidemic of child abuse. Because Jeffrey never made any
allegations of abuse by Peter to the police, he wasn't one of the complainants at Peter's trial.
But his mother had made sure to get Jeffrey far away from Peter and the other CRA employees, withdrawing him
from the Christurch civic crash at the end of 1991. She subsequently enrolled Jeffrey at
another crash with workers there noting Ms. Magnolia's extreme fear [music] and paranoia. She would ask the childare
workers there not to let Jeffree play near the fence because there's a pedophile ring and they're out to get
us. The employees took her [music] concerns seriously, listening to her and reassuring her. But then in September
1992, she accused a male worker of sexually abusing Jeffrey. [music] This complaint was handled very
differently to the Christ Church Civic Crash case with detectives and CRA administrators keeping the matter
tightly under wraps while it was investigated. There were no public meetings or calls
from Ms. Magnolia to other parents. After detectives looked into the case, they found no evidence to support the
complaint and it was dropped. Detective Colony was not involved in that case. A closer examination of his
involvement with the Christurch civic crash case led to a number of concerns. His first notes written when he took
down Ms. Magnolia's complaint featured a comment about Peter Ellis. quote, "He is
apparently homosexual." From the outset, [music] 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 crash, she said she was abused when she and her mother went to pick up her
younger siblings. Detective Eid found this allegation particularly alarming and thought it
looked really serious. But Mandy's claims never resulted in any charges against Peter Alice. Her mother
withdrew Mandy from the case and made a complaint to the police. at the same time.
She reported that Detective Eid had propositioned her. He later admitted to this, saying that
he'd returned home after drinking heavily and received a phone call from Missutus.
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 Eid later went on to have romantic relationships with two other
mothers involved in the case, though he said these occurred well after Peter Ellis's 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 Christ Church 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 [ __ ] has been set up." One day, a fellow inmate approached
Peter and said, "My [music] mom thinks you're innocent." Some of the guards were sympathetic as
well. One in particular told Peter he didn't belong in Paparoua 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 favor. From the moment he'd learned that a child had made a comment about not liking his black penis, he assumed
everyone would have to see that [music] 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. [music]
Although some had thought it suspicious that he'd opted to work in a crash over an animal shelter when he was a known
animal lover, Peter had chosen the crash because it was an easy walk from his house.
The animal shelter would require him to catch a bus every day, which he couldn't
afford at the time. It was true that he sometimes had inappropriate conversations with colleagues at work
and occasionally faced reprimands for being [music] too boisterous with the children, but overall, Peter had been a
popular and beloved member of the CRA community. Some of the accusations made against
him, like the claims that he had locked children in cages with lions and killed a boy named Andrew, were so patently
false that they weren't mentioned at trial. But even less outlandish claims could be refuted by basic facts.
Several children had identified an old boarding house where Peter had lived as a place where he'd abused them after
parents had taken them there. But Peter had moved out of that house years earlier. In some cases, years before the
complainant children were even born. In fact, only one complainant had attended the crash when Peter had lived
there. Four of the complainants said Peter had driven them in his car to various
locations where they were abused. But Peter didn't own a car and couldn't drive.
And although police had pointed to areas inside the crash where he could have abused children out of sight, the actual
layout of those locations made such abuse highly unlikely. The toilets where he was alleged to have
abused kids were tiny child-sized spaces. Although the adult crash workers would
go in there to assist small children in using the toilet, there was no room for them to hide and they could be easily
seen by other employees inside the crash. A kitchen where he was thought to have
committed crimes was equally difficult to access without witnesses. Plus, the seven complainants whose
accusations resulted in his conviction [music] had named 21 other children as either observers or participants. Yet,
none of those 21 children ever confirmed any of the allegations. Peter Ellis and his supporters were
hoping that these facts and others would help him find a way out of prison. In late July 1994, Peter appealed his
conviction on the basis that none of the 21 children cited by complainants as witnesses ever verified the allegations.
Representing Peter was barristister Graeme Pankhurst, QC, who argued that the guilty verdicts were unreasonable
because the complainant's evidence wasn't credible. He pointed out all of the inconsistencies in the children's
testimony and allegations. Pankhurst also argued that there had been a general miscarriage of justice.
The trial judge had limited the videotaped evidence and allowed the jury to keep transcripts [music] of the
children's interviews that had been edited by the crown. But shortly after the appeal began, it
was abruptly paused due to a bombshell revelation. Zelda Cyprus, the eldest of the
complaintants and widely seen as the most credible, had retracted her allegations.
After learning that Peter was appealing his conviction, Zelda's mother had told her daughter that Peter was saying that
the children had lied. To Miss Cypress's mind, it was further evidence that Peter
Ellis was a bad person. But she noticed that when she told Zelda this, her daughter was silent.
Zelda, who was now a pre-teen, said that she'd wanted to tell her mother the truth for a while. She was just waiting
for the right opportunity. It finally presented itself after Zelda got into an argument with a friend at
school, which led to the two girls mothers having a heated phone conversation. The other girl's mother called a Zelda a
liar. After Miss Cyprus hung up the phone, she had a heart-to-he heart conversation
with Zelda about the importance of telling the truth. Zelda grew visibly distressed and said,
"I want to tell you about Peter and they were lies." According to Zelda, during her
interviews, she had said the things she thought her mother had wanted to hear. The lies had started out small, but grew
progressively bigger. Zelda wanted to share her retraction with the court to help Peter.
Upon learning this news, Peter asked his lawyers, "Is she all right? Are her parents
supporting her?" Although Zelda's new testimony was entered into evidence, the appellet
judges rejected her new statements. Such retractions were common in child abuse cases. They said Zelda was most
likely in denial and had convinced herself that she'd lied during the interviews as a way to remove the
traumatic case from her life. Still, they quashed Peter Ellis's three convictions that related to Zelda. They
upheld all 13 of his remaining convictions and his 10-year prison sentence. Since this date, Zelda Cyprus has always
maintained that she lied about Peter abusing her due to feeling pressure. She and her family say they were pressured
by the police and the crown prosecutor in an unprofessional way and said New Zealand's Ministry of Justice [music]
has never contacted them about Zelda's retraction. In February 1999, almost [music] 6 years
into his sentence, Peter Ellis became eligible for parole. Appearing before the parole board, Peter
stated, "I would like to thank the board for the opportunity to appear here today. I cannot accept any parole that
you could offer me because the board can only release me as a guilty man. I am a human being and of course I very
much want my freedom but I simply cannot accept it if [music] it is to be given on the basis that I am a guilty man.
I am not a guilty man. I am an innocent man. In light of this statement the parole
board had no choice but to refuse parole. 5 months later, Peter Ellis tried for a
second appeal. The court found that while there was no certainty that a miscarriage of justice
had taken place, some of the issues raised, such as the reliability of the children's interviews and whether they
might have been contaminated by parents' questions, might benefit from a royal commission into the matter.
A royal commission wasn't called, but in March 2000, New Zealand's then Minister
of Justice established a ministerial inquiry into the conduct of the children's interviews.
This was somewhat more limited in scope than a royal commission and wouldn't allow for witnesses [music] to be
compelled to testify or cross-examined a new. The inquiry would be led by Sir Thomas
Eichelborn, a judge who'd previously served [music] as the Chief Justice of New Zealand.
One year later, the Eichelborn report was delivered. Sir Eelbour found that while the
children's interviews hadn't been perfect, they were generally of good quality, especially for the time.
In fact, New Zealand's interviewing approach for child victims in 1991 was sometimes ahead of overseas practices.
While there were some weaknesses in the investigation, particularly regarding the way some parents had questioned
their children too much, Sir Bor concluded this hadn't significantly affected the case's outcome.
One international expert who assisted with the report found that the key complainants hadn't been seriously
affected by contamination. That is by hearing other children's stories via parents or general conversations that
might have influenced their own statements. In conclusion, [music] the inquiry did not find grounds to
believe that Peter Ellis's convictions were unsafe and did [music] not recommend a pardon.
By this stage, Peter Ellis had completed his sentence. He was released from prison on Wednesday, February 2, 2000,
and moved to a small beach community where his mother and sister resided. Although he had his freedom, he hadn't
managed to clear his name, and that was something that he desperately wanted. He now had a number of high-profile
supporters who were eager to help in his quest. In 2001, author Linley Hood published a
book about the moral panic regarding ritual abuse in New Zealand and [music] Peter Ellis's case in particular.
In her book, Linley Hood coined a number of pseudonyms for complainants and their
parents, which we have used throughout this episode. titled A City Possessed. It was a
comprehensive examination of the circumstances leading up to and including Peter's trial as well as the
events that followed. As Hood described it, Christurch was a city on the edge, primed for a case such
as the Christ Church civic crash, with rumors of ritual abuse having steadily built throughout the city during the
1980s. A city possessed became highly acclaimed, winning the top prize for non-fiction and the reader's choice
award at the 2002 New Zealand Book Awards. It won over new supporters for Peter Ellis, including the former leader of
the New Zealand National Party, the country's centerright political party. A number of prominent journalists also
spoke out in their support of Peter Ellis, including print journalist Martin Vanain, who sat through the entire
trial, and Melanie Reed, the reporter who had put together the 60-minute story about a pedophile ring in Christ Church
just weeks before allegations against Peter were first made. During the 2000s, the fight to acquit
Peter Ellis continued. Between 2003 and 2014, there were three petitions for a royal commission into the case, though
no royal commission was ever established. On Thursday, July 25, 2019, Peter Ellis
lodged an appeal to New Zealand's Supreme Court. He was now 61 years old and battling bladder cancer. His lawyers
argued that evidence in the 1993 case was flawed, especially testimony from experts regarding children's behavior
indicating abuse. Research about interviewing children that had emerged in the intervening
years also raised concerns about the evidence used by the crown. More than 3 years later, the Supreme
Court reached a decision. It highlighted two main problems in the original trial.
The testimony of crown witness Dr. Karen Zealus had gone beyond what the law allowed when giving evidence that the
children's behaviors were consistent with sexual abuse. This evidence was deemed to be
unbalanced, lacking alternative explanations for the children's behavior. The other issue was that the jury had
not been properly informed of the risk of children's memories or accounts having been contaminated by multiple
interviews, questioning by parents, and discussions between the children. The court found that a miscarriage of
justice had taken place while emphasizing that its judgment was not to be read as a criticism of the
complainants, their parents, or those involved in the investigation and trial. On Friday, October 7, 2022, more than 30
years after Peter Ellis was first arrested, the court [music] quashed all of his remaining convictions, clearing
his name. Peter was not present for this long awaited result. He had died 3 years
earlier from terminal bladder cancer [music] less than 2 months after he'd filed his final bid for appeal.
Ordinarily in New Zealand, courts have ruled that an individual's interest in a judicial hearing ends if they die,
putting a stop to any hearings in process. Given the exceptional nature of Peter
Ellis's case, the Supreme Court granted Lee for his appeal to be heard despite [music] his death, marking the first
time that a New Zealand court had overturned a conviction postuously. Peter's mother, who had been his
strongest and most steadfast [music] supporter, did not live to see her son exonerated either. Leslie Ellis had died
approximately 1 month before the Supreme Court delivered its ruling. Peter's brother Mark and sister Tanya
welcomed the news on their behalf with Mark telling reporters outside the court. We're just proud of him. We're
just proud of the person he was. We never doubted he was innocent. [music] And that was it.
The parents of the complainants had a very different reaction, releasing a statement to share their disappointment
in the court's decision. It read in part, "The trauma of not being believed over the years takes its
toll. The court of public opinion is often illinformed and the facts are lost. Our children deserved to be
[music] safe in the care of adults. They were not. For the complainants and their families,
the ongoing focus on the civic crash case was often ret-raumatizing. As public opinion swayed in favor of
Peter Ellis, some individuals lost any trust [music] they might have had in the media and felt totally silenced.
In May 2022, as Peter Ellis's appeal was underway before the Supreme Court, a female complainant, now aged in her 30s,
spoke to journalist Joe Malcolm about her suffering. She attended the crash from 18 months to
5 years old and said she still had many clear memories of Peter and how he made her feel. Quote, "Not being believed is
very difficult, and I lean on the fact the [music] courts have believed me, and I get some reassurance from that.
Disclosing was a scary and vulnerable thing that I did somewhat reluctantly. It's certainly not my experience that I
was led by my parents. We never ever discussed it and it certainly wasn't discussed with each other as children as
has been claimed. It was like an unwritten agreement. We didn't talk about it. This complainant told Joe Malcolm that
the abuse continued to impact her as an adult, affecting her relationships and making her feel voiceless.
In 2003, the complainant known as Bart Dogwood told the Dominion Post. We were there. We know it happened. It's
not easy to live with, but I could live with it if everyone didn't keep bringing
it up all the time. The only closure I want is for Peter Ellis to admit he did it.
Some people close to the case have wondered if some children who did disclose abuse had been sexually
assaulted but by a person other than Peter Ellis. In the podcast series Delve by
journalist Melanie Reed, Gay Davidson, the CRA's supervisor, spoke of something troubling she saw while reviewing the
children's videotaped interviews. One girl who took part in six-hourong interviews and disclosed abuse by Peter
seemed relaxed and disinterested when asked about the crash. The interviewers then questioned her older brother, who
had never attended the crash, and he disclosed that he had been abused by an uncle.
The interviewers brought the girl back in for a final 10-minute interview where they asked about her uncle.
The girl sat frozen and spoke in a low voice as she disclosed that her uncle had abused her too.
To Gay Davidson, there was a stark difference between her relaxed demeanor in the cray interviews and her scared
one in this final conversation. According to Gay's recollection, the girl's family opted against charging the
uncle with anything as they didn't want their child to be a multi-abuse victim. They chose to focus on the charges
relating to abuse at the crash instead. This complainant's allegations against Peter Ellis were discharged [music] at
the trial. The four women who were charged alongside Peter had their lives permanently affected. Also, despite not
being convicted, they had to leave careers they loved and give up working with children. They faced [music]
discrimination from members of the public, finding themselves shunned and judged despite having their charges
dropped. The closure of the crash impacted other employees, too, [music] as well as an entire community that
depended on it. In March 1995, the four women and six other colleagues who also lost their jobs were awarded $1 million
by the employment court for unjustified dismissal. [music] This was later reduced to $80,000, which
in some cases wasn't enough to cover legal costs. Carol Evans was a Christurch city
counselor from 1986 [music] until 2007 and was serving on the council at the time of Peter Ellis's trial. In 2015, as
debate was raging about the case once more, [music] Carol called a local Talkback radio show to share her
personal regrets. At [music] times I was the city council representative on the crash committee
and I just believed that he was innocent all the time. [music] I met him, I knew
him, I'd seen him in action. He was flamboyant. He was colorful, but I always believed he was innocent.
When the radio host asked why she hadn't spoken up at the time if she believed in
Peter's innocence, Carol replied, because we were told not to. I just felt if I don't ring now, I'm going to wear
this guilt for the rest of my life. Reflecting on what she would say to Peter Ellis if given the chance, Carol
said, "I guess I'd say that I'm sorry on behalf of the city. It's a pity that some of us didn't [music] speak out.
I just have always felt sorry every time it raises its head." And I [music] guess the more you look at
the case, it was just pure panic, pure conjecture. And people consolidated themselves one way or the other into two
groups. [music] Those who believed and those who didn't [music]

Late in 1991, a child said something strange to his mother. Believing this was an indication that her son was being abused by Peter Ellis, a 33-year-old employee at the Christchurch Civic Creche her son attended, the concerned mother quickly filed a report. The case would soon snowball into one of New Zealand’s biggest and most controversial criminal cases…

CREDITS Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Production & music – Mike Migas Audio editing – Anthony Telfer

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Brief Summary

The episode covers the Christ Church Civic Crash case, detailing allegations against Peter Ellis and the ensuing investigation and trial.

Key points

Allegations of Abuse. A mother suspects her son has been abused by a male caregiver, prompting immediate action.
Community Meeting. Parents gather to discuss allegations against Peter Ellis, leading to divided opinions.
Mandy's Disclosure. 7-year-old Mandy reveals Peter Ellis abused her, igniting further investigations.
Fear and Anxiety. Parents gather for a meeting filled with anxiety over the allegations against Peter Ellis.
Growing Number of Complainants. By the end of May 1992, police uncover eight new complainants, bringing the total to 13.
Trial Begins for Peter Ellis. Peter Ellis's trial commenced amid a media frenzy and public outrage over the allegations.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

"If he was a monster and he was here, you'd be surprised.".

A child's description of fear regarding an adult.

6:50WatchJun 6, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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