CYFS has failed to halt the publication of childrens' testimonies from the Peter Ellis case in newspapers nationwide tomorrow. Childrens Commissioner Roger McClay and chief social worker Shannon Pakura both spoke out after publisher Barry Colman's announcement last week that he would release the testimonies, saying that children would be deterred from testifying in future cases if they knew their interviews could be “dredged up” later. Colman says the interviews will prove that Ellis was the victim of a hysterical witch hunt. “The public will see how much gibberish these toddlers of three or four trying to remember things. It's crazy stuff. They talk of trapdoors in the houses that don't exist, of being pulled up in cages by Peter's mother,” he said.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Saturday, 2nd August 2003 - 12:00pm