Former policemen face High Court in rape case

An assistant police commissioner and two other men will go to trial in March accused of pack-raping Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas.

The trial will be heard in the High Court at Auckland and is set down to last three weeks.

It will follow four days of pre-trial applications which are scheduled to be heard in the same court next month.

The accused, Clinton John Tukotahi Rickards, Bradley Keith Shipton, and Robert Francis Schollum, face a total of 20 charges of rape, indecent assault and unlawful sexual connection.

It is alleged Mrs Nicholas was forced to have sex with Shipton and Rickards between six to 12 times and that she was also taken to a house and pack-raped by the three accused on a separate occasion.

The alleged offending took place in 1986 when Mrs Nicholas was 18 and the three accused were working as police officers in Rotorua. The three accused have strongly denied the allegations and one of their lawyers described the case as being "at best, built on straw".

Historic case

The accuser:

* Louise Nicholas, 38, married with three daughters. She went public with her allegations at the beginning of last year.

The accused:

* Clint Rickards, 44, assistant police commissioner, suspended on full pay.

* Bradley Shipton, 47, former detective sergeant, ex-Tauranga city councillor.

* Robert Schollum, 53, former sergeant, police prosecutor and car salesman.