What is Peter Ellis (childcare worker)?
{{Infobox person |name = Peter Ellis |image = Image of Peter Ellis on the cover of North & South magazine in November 2015.jpg |caption = Ellis on the cover of North&South magazine in November 2015 |imagesize = 145px |birth_name = Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis |birth_date = {{birth date|1958|3|30|df=y}} |birth_place = [[Christchurch]], New Zealand |death_date = {{death date and age|2019|9|4|1958|3|30|df=y}} |death_place = Christchurch, New Zealand |death_cause = [[Bladder cancer]] |occupation = Former [[Childcare|child care worker]] }} '''Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis''' (30 March 1958 &ndash; 4 September 2019) was a New Zealand childcare worker who was wrongly accused of child sexual abuse. He was a [[child care]] worker who worked in [[Christchurch]]. He was convicted in June 1993 and released from prison in February 2000. In October 2022 the Supreme Court of New Zealand said he had been wrongly accused and cleared him of all charges. ==Conviction and overturn== In June 1993, Ellis was found guilty in the [[High Court of New Zealand|High Court]] on 16 counts of [[Child sexual abuse|sexual offences involving children]] in his care at the Christchurch Civic Creche and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. Many people have said he was wrongly accused, because of the way the children were interviewed and the way their interviews were shown to the jury. Many people believe in Ellis' innocence and many New Zealanders have supported his calls to overturn the conviction. In 1994, the [[Court of Appeal of New Zealand|Court of Appeal]] removed convictions on three of the charges, but kept the sentence. His conviction and sentence were removed for a second time in the Court of Appeal in October 1999. Ellis refused to attend parole board hearings while in prison because he would have to confess to the crimes in order to argue for early release.<ref>Gilbert, Jarrod (8 February 2018). [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11989759 Jarrod Gilbert: Peter Ellis martyr to deranged preju