Tears of relief follow police trial verdict

Clint Rickards and his partner, Tania Eden, leave the High Court yesterday in relief. Picture / Dean Purcell

Long pent-up emotions found voice in gasps and guttural sobs among a packed public gallery yesterday as the jury forewoman in the Louise Nicholas case uttered the words "not guilty" for the 20th and last time.

It was just gone afternoon tea time, two days and two hours since the seven women and five men on the jury were asked to begin their deliberations. "Justice," yelled one woman among the throng in courtroom 12 in the High Court at Auckland. "At last," a man added.


"Love you, Brad," Sharon Shipton called to her husband, Brad, in the dock 5m away, where stood Bob Schollum - like Mr Shipton a former policeman - and one of the highest-ranking officers in the land, Assistant Commissioner Clint Rickards.

Mrs Nicholas, accompanied by her husband, Ross, seated towards the rear of the court, left quietly as the final verdict was read.

Visibly upset, she walked from the historic stone and brick courthouse in Parliament St, Central Auckland, soon after, her husband at her side.

Detective Superintendent Nick Perry, head of the police team set up to investigate her allegations, said Mrs Nicholas was obviously disappointed but had no comment.

Extensive suppression orders remain in place.

It was a day for the accused and their supporters to have their say, the end of a chapter of a story that began 20 years ago.

Mr Shipton's family expressed disgust that so much taxpayers' money had been spent on the inquiry and alleged that politics had played a part.

For the two and half weeks leading up to yesterday's decision, courtroom 12 had been taken back to a time of beat-up Vauxhall Vivas, old Triumphs, of drinking in Rotorua's Cobb and Co, when police officers finishing a night shift at 5am on a Sunday went for drinking sessions known as "Sunday Schools".

Out of those times had come allegations of rape and indecent assault. Among them, Mr Rickards, Mr Shipton and Mr Schollum had faced 20 charges, including allegations that they had violated Mrs Nicholas with a police baton.

After hearing from 25 witnesses and addresses from prosecution and defence counsel, the jury had retired at 1pm on Wednesday and was now back with its verdicts.

Lawyers, journalists, friends, family, police officers, former police officers, law students and about 60 members of the public gathered to hear the outcome.

In the front row sat Caron Schollum, expressionless, gripping a friend's hand. Beside her Sharon Shipton closed tired eyes and mouthed words to herself. Mr Rickard's partner, Tania Eden, smiled, a Maori carving around her neck as it had been for the past 13 days, and said "be strong"as she held tight to a friend's hand.

Their partners walked into the dock. Behind them, Mrs Nicholas, the woman who brought them all here, sat steely faced, flanked by her husband and detectives.

Before the jury entered the room, Justice Tony Randerson called for the public to show consideration, that "whatever the outcome, the verdicts be received in complete silence and that you save your reactions for outside the courtroom".

As the not guilty verdicts were read one by one, tears began to flow. Mrs Schollum was surrounded by people holding her shoulders, Ms Eden nodded her head, grinning wider and wider.

In the dock, Mr Rickards stood emotionless, even as the wave of jury decisions rolled in.

Mr Schollum was first to show emotion, shaking his head and bowing forward as the forewoman said "not guilty" to the charge of indecent assault with a baton. He squeezed his eyes but was unable to stem the tears.

Mr Shipton rubbed his friend's back, then he too started weeping. Head bowed, he pinched the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger.

With all the verdicts read, Mr Rickards finally buckled. His eyes watered, his shoulders slumped, the first visible signs of relief.

In the gallery supporters of the men were hugged. In the direction of the prosecution a supporter snapped, "You're a piece of shit."

As Mrs Nicholas left the room, the emotions were too much for the three women who had sat and listened to the sordid stories of their partners' sexual past, evidence of where they had sex, how they had sex and of who had watched.

Justice Randerson thanked the jurors, saying their task had been "unpleasant and unsavoury".

The trial itself had been quite simple, he said. It was the events "swirling around in the outside world" that had caused the problems.

The judge revealed that there had been a risk of the trial being aborted and that he had had to take drastic action. Two members of the public had been held in contempt of court: A woman was jailed for three days for talking to a member of the jury, and a man who had breached a court order was banned from returning to court during the trial.

Within five minutes of the verdicts being read, the public gallery was empty. Mrs Nicholas had gone, with the portion of the gallery who were there in support of her.

While the judge and lawyers remained inside sorting out suppression orders, family and supporters of the cleared trio gathered in a circle outside for karakia. Among them was former MP Willie Jackson, who called himself part of the support team.

Mr Shipton's brother Craig thanked the group of about 30 and said the verdicts restored his faith in God.

"It is something to lose faith in the system, and an apology is warranted. These are good men. The world needs more of these men, and we should all be proud of them.

"Our family can sleep tonight and know maybe, maybe, this justice system works. However, I hate to think that any persecution like this might happen to someone else."

He and another brother, Greg Shipton, described the prosecution of the men as political. Even the Prime Minister had commented, which they said was inappropriate.

Craig Shipton: "It's purely political and quite frankly we are going to be asking some serious questions about the use of taxpayers' money to put good people through this. We have a lot of rubbish going on at the moment in this country. This is politically driven, and it's time it stopped."

Greg Shipton: "Had Clint Rickards been a plumber in Rotorua, it would have been investigated once and that would be it. This is about stopping the first Maori commissioner of police."

He criticised the "corrupt" police and said they were "still out there soliciting complaints".

Mr Shipton's sister, Tracey Shipton, told the Weekend Herald the family had never thought the men would be acquitted.

As he was about to leave the courtroom, Mr Rickards hugged his lawyer, Queen's Counsel John Haigh, then left hand-in-hand with Ms Eden to an unlit room off the foyer.

Two women, arms folded, defiantly blocked the doorway and window.

One, a Maori warden, was soon replaced by a man wearing a black T-shirt, "Awesome Aotearoa Warriors" emblazoned across his burly chest.

Inside the room, a blinking Mr Rickards greeted well-wishers with hugs and backslaps.

Mobbed by reporters as he left the court, Mr Rickards vigorously rubbed Ms Eden's shoulder as he told the media how "terribly relieved" he was.

In January 2004, before the allegations against him became public, Mr Rickards was commander of the Auckland police district. His career had been a stellar one.

He joined the police in January 1979, signing up to cadet wing 23 three days after his 18th birthday, and was first stationed in his hometown of Rotorua. The remarkable career of police officer CR7055 was under way.

Not long into the job, he was shoulder-tapped and asked to join the undercover programme.

A well-built man trained in the martial art of judo (he represented NZ at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, where he came fourth in his division), he seemed the perfect candidate. Long-term operations in Kawerau, Invercargill and Christchurch followed, with short-term stints in Wellington and Auckland too. He delved into drug rings and burglary rackets.

Proving he had brains as well as brawn, he gained a bachelor of business studies degree from Massey University and a masters in public policy from Charles Sturt University, New South Wales. During the past two years he has been studying for a doctorate in business.

By the time he was appointed Waikato district commander in 1999, he was being noticed by then Police Minister George Hawkins for his innovative crime prevention and community programmes, some of which were run in conjunction with Ms Eden, at that time a fellow officer.

The pair became a couple about 1993 and have a daughter, one of five of Mr Rickards' children.

He also won plaudits for his work in the Maori community, taking pride in his Ngati Apakura and Ngati Hikairo tribal links and seeking to reduce Maori offending rates.

The Nicholas allegations became public in January 2004, but unlike previous inquiries that were conducted away from the gaze of public attention, these accusations against Mr Rickards, Mr Schollum and Mr Shipton were very much in the open.

A high-powered inquiry team, headed by Mr Perry, began one of the most important investigations conducted by the New Zealand police, and Mr Rickards was stood down from duty.

The inquiry took 14 months before the trio were charged. It was another 12 months before they stood trial.

After all those months, the length of time that the jury took to make its decision had been almost unbearable, family members said.

"We were praying," said Tracey Shipton. Because of the time it took for the jury to come back she said the families had started to think the worst.

"There were so many charges we weren't sure when the end [of the jury's not guilty verdicts] was coming.

"We're all sad because it should never have come to this."

She said they had stuck it out on the second floor of the High Court - a divide between them and a scrum of waiting media for three long days.

She recalled sitting on the floor massaging her mother Lorraine's feet at 8.30 on Thursday night.

"It has affected her health. It has affected her faith in society," she said as she waited for Mr Shipton's wife, who was spending private time with her husband.

They hugged and cried and as she walked out of courtroom 12 for the last time, Sharon Shipton nodded with dark-ringed eyes and said, "He's very happy with the result. "We never ever doubted. We never ever doubted for one moment these men were innocent. We know them."

Mr Rickards, the only one of the trio to have taken the stand, had told the jury he admitted having two consensual sexual encounters with Mrs Nicholas.

He said he made no excuse for what was a jovial, happy time but he was not proud. "I had a partner and I had two children; that speaks for itself," he told the court.

Mrs Nicholas' evidence was of rape. She spoke of a loss of control, wanting to hide, and of the moment she alleged a smirking Mr Shipton loomed over her in 1986, police baton in one hand as the other two officers looked on.

She had been a victim of conditioning, of an imbalance of power, and had lost her ability to resist.

Mr Rickards said her allegations were a lie.


What they said

* Clint Rickards

It was the right result as far as today, and I certainly would like to make my heartfelt gratitude to my legal team, Mr Haigh. They have done a splendid job, and justice prevailed today.

It has been torture, torture for the last 2 years. This has been the worst nightmare you could ever imagine.

Look, it's been very traumatic for my wife [Tania Eden] and my whanau as well. One thing that's pulled me through has been my whanau.

You have seen them here today, my wife, Tania, my son and my brother have been with me all the way and my extended whanau. If you didn't have that support it would be even more traumatic. Twenty-four hours, seven days a week.

[The period the jury deliberated had been] torture, yeah it's been mayhem.

Asked if Mr Rickards expected to take his job back, his lawyer, John Haigh, QC, said it was a matter to be resolved later.

"There are a lot of negotiations and so forth and discussions with the police department and we'll pursue that at a later point."

Asked his view of Louise Nicholas right now, Mr Haigh said: "It's probably not appropriate to go into that."


* The police

Deputy Commissioner Lyn Provost says police will start talks with Clint Rickards' lawyer about employment matters.

"There are many factors involved both from the point of view of the employee and the employer and I am not going to speculate or prejudice those matters by public commentary," said Ms Provost.

She said the Operation Austin team which had undertaken the investigation into Mr Rickards, Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum had done so according to the highest standards of professionalism in the police.

"They have discharged their duty in exemplary fashion," she said.


* Shipton family

Helen Clark, who passed over Clint Rickards for the job of deputy police commissioner six years ago after hearing he had been investigated for sexual misconduct, was accused yesterday of persecution.

"As a family we will be asking serious questions - this is persecution from the Prime Minister down," said Craig Shipton, brother of Brad Shipton.

Craig Shipton accused Helen Clark of interfering in the case by commenting publicly on it.

This was denied last night by a spokeswoman for Helen Clark, who said neither the Prime Minister nor any Government minister had ever commented on the court case. 
 

The charges 

* Clinton John Tukotahi Rickards
2 charges of rape (one representative)
1 representative charge of sexual violation by rape
4 charges of indecent assault (one representative)
1 representative charge of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection
Verdict: not guilty on all charges

* Robert Francis Schollum
1 charge of rape
4 charges of indecent assault
Verdict: not guilty on all charges

* Bradley Keith Shipton
2 charges of rape (one representative)
1 representative charge of sexual violation by rape
3 charges of indecent assault (one representative)
1 representative charge of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection
Verdict: not guilty on all charges