Three decades after he was first charged and three years after his death, convicted sex offender Peter Ellis may finally have his name cleared tomorrow.
The Supreme Court will deliver its decision on Ellis' appeal of his 13 convictions for child abuse at 2pm Friday, bringing the famously contentious case to a close.
It was Ellis' dying wish to have his name cleared and the case hinges on what has been described as a potentially historical shift in New Zealand law.
Tikanga or Māori custom was a central part of the appeal by Ellis' lawyers during a two-week hearing last year.
They argued the mana of a deceased person believed to have suffered a miscarriage of justice extended beyond their death.
The decision will show what the highest court in the country made of the argument - that Ellis had a right to clear his name and re-establish his mana beyond the grave.
Experts say there could be wider implications if the Supreme Court's decision supports the argument.
The case is just one of a handful that have come before the court posthumously.
Ellis' lawyers also raised concerns around the impact of parents questioning their children and interview techniques used by police when the allegations first arose.
Ellis was first accused of abusing a child while working at the Christchurch Civic Creche in 1991 and other families then alleged similar abuse.
He was convicted of 16 child abuse charges by a jury trial in 1993 after seven children's accounts of alleged abuse were put before the court. He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars.
In 1994 one victim recanted her story before the Court of Appeal and said she had lied to please her mother.
This admission led to three charges being quashed.
Ellis continued to maintain his innocence against the remaining 13 convictions and was released in 2000 after seven years in prison.
In the following years, Ellis and his legal team launched multiple appeals, petitions and requests for inquiries without success.
He was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2018 but continued his battle to clear his name.
He died aged 61 in September 2019, just five weeks before a Supreme Court hearing on his appeal.
