KEY POINTS:
The alleged victim
The 39-year-old mother of four looked nervous and tired. Not well educated or articulate, she was easily confused. Prosecutor Brent Stanaway gently questioned her about the alleged sexual assault by five burly policemen, but under cross-examination, she became flustered and more disoriented.
The
prosecutor
With crafty, confident and at times clever cross-examination, Brent Stanaway hit his straps when Brad Shipton's wife Sharon claimed she and her husband had been on holiday at the time of the alleged offences.
The suspended assistant police commissioner
Rickards sat staring straight ahead throughout the trial, not even flinching, as his accuser described how she'd been held down and had a bottle inserted into her vagina. The first defence witness, Rickards was the only one of the three accused to speak for himself. He claimed he had never met the complainant. He answered questions with assertion, with the prosecution later describing him as a practised liar and witness.
His wife
Rickards' family stood firmly by him throughout the trial, his wife Tania Eden appearing unusually perky, considering the circumstances. His brother and sons were also at the court, day in and day out, impatient and annoyed that their time was being wasted.
His lawyer
John Haigh, QC, was quick to blame the media for his client's predicament. Tall and statesmanlike, his confidence shone out above the legal line-up, as did his ready sarcastic quips.
Brad Shipton
The man who had an affair with a vulnerable 16-year-old girl was the common link with the other two accused. His anxiety was clear to the reporters sitting directly behind him, with the strong smell of stale cigarette smoke wafting after him each time he entered the courtroom. Shipton stared straight at the complainant as she spoke, shaking his head in disagreement and looking at the jury with pleading eyes. He eyeballed the media, again shaking his head in disgust. As his wife Sharon broke down on the stand, he displayed his only sign of raw emotion, but it was difficult to tell if his tears were for his wife's distress or because he thought her story had destroyed his case.
Sharon Shipton
Shipton's wife was like a woman possessed, blinded by love. At first she was witty, making the jury laugh as she described her husband's weight gain over the years. But after it emerged her cousin would refute her holiday alibi, she cried, then looked numb and broken.
Shipton's lawyer
Bill Nabney seemed pleased with himself when Sharon Shipton first took the stand. His perfect witness would give prosecutor Brent Stanaway a run for his money. But as Mrs Shipton's cousin told the court she could not recall the holiday, you could almost see his stomach knot, and he never fully recovered. His closing address was reminiscent of a dry university lecture you know you have to listen to or risk failing the paper.
Bob Schollum
The most dishevelled of the three accused. The bags under his eyes were a telling sign of the stress he was under. Each time he was led out of the court, he anxiously scanned the public gallery for supporters and took every opportunity to converse with and hug loved ones.
Caron Schollum
Caron Schollum showed up at court sporadically, the best looking and youngest of the three wives. Always well dressed and made up, she would sometimes change her clothes half-way through the day and return looking even more stylish. She cried with the other women when the verdicts were returned, and mouthed "I love you" as her husband was taken back into custody to complete his jail term for rape.
Schollum's lawyer
Paul Mabey, QC, elected not to call evidence on Schollum's behalf, perhaps a wise move after Sharon Shipton's testimony. He was quick to distance Schollum from that evidence, well aware of the damage it could have caused.