Peter Hugh Mc Gregor Ellis

Peter Hugh Mc Gregor Ellis

Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis (born 30 March 1958) is a former Christchurch child care worker who has been at the centre of one of New Zealand's most enduring judicial controversies. In June 1993 Ellis was found guilty in the High Court on 16 counts of sexual offences involving children in his care at the Christchurch Civic Creche and was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. His conviction has been strongly criticised, with concerns centring on how the children's testimony was obtained and presented to the jury.

Ellis has always maintained his innocence and many New Zealanders have supported calls to overturn his convictions. In 1994, the Court of Appeal quashed convictions on three of the charges but upheld the sentence. His conviction and sentence were upheld for a second time in the Court of Appeal, in October 1999.

Ellis was released in February 2000 after serving almost seven years in prison.

In March 2000, Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum conducted a ministerial inquiry reviewing the children's evidence. His report, which has been widely criticised, upheld the guilty verdicts. The same month Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie Boys rejected Ellis' third bid for pardon on the advice of Justice Minister Phil Goff, who was satisfied with the finding of former Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum that Ellis had failed to prove his convictions were unsafe.

Two books and numerous articles have been written about the case.

Ellis continues to campaign to clear his name, in 2011 he announced intention to lodge a fourth petition for pardon with the Governor General.