http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 85,00.htmlPedophile fire prompts town joy
By Padraic Murphy
October 05, 2006
THERE are some crimes, such as a possible vigilante attack on the house of a pedophile, that even the police do not seem keen to solve.
Armed with Eskies, the residents of the Victorian town of Meringur danced and drank beer as they watched flames engulf the home of Terrence Allan Ellis last Sunday night.
For the town's tiny population of 16, this was the type of justice the legal system couldn't deliver, and they wanted to celebrate.
Ellis, a 52-year-old alcoholic and former vagrant, was convicted two weeks ago of raping a young girl.
Police have quizzed residents over the arson attack and confirmed the fire was suspicious.
While nobody in Meringur is owning up to the crime, as many as 40 people from the area celebrated at the time.
Even the victim, whom Ellis had threatened to kill if she told anyone about the assault, and who still lives nearby, came out to watch the timber cottage burn.
"You couldn't wipe the smile off her face," her father said yesterday.
Victorian police have interviewed residents.
"I don't think they'll get very far," one resident said yesterday. The fire started just after 6.30pm (AEST) on Sunday, soon after an open day at the town's one and only business, a pioneer park, had closed for the day.
"It certainly was a bit of a party," the victim's brother said.
Her father said yesterday he was not responsible for the blaze, but added that the house was a constant reminder of the crime and he was not losing any sleep over its loss.
"It's coming up to a year since (my daughter) was assaulted, so the fire gives us a bit of a full stop on it," the father said. "I didn't do it, but I can't say it hadn't crossed my mind.
"I don't reckon the police will be working too hard to solve it."
A fire investigator said the heat was too intense to identify an ignition point.
"That's a shame," said the father, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
A long-haul truck driver, he was travelling back from Brisbane last December when his wife rang to say Ellis had assaulted their daughter.
"It was just before Christmas. I mean, could you imagine that? We'd helped Terry over the years, I could just kick myself," he said.
Ellis, an alcoholic who has lived in the town for the past eight years, drove the girl to the outskirts of the town and raped her in the rear of a ute.
In cities, sexual assault victims can remain anonymous - but not in the Milewa district, just west of Mildura.
By the time police arrested Ellis, he was lucky locals had not already taken matters into their own hands.
"I was going to drive my truck into his house, I was that angry," the father said.
The victim, who has since returned to school, has required counselling and is eligible to receive $7000 in crimes compensation. Ellis was sentenced to a minimum 3½ years jail last month in the Victorian County Court and could be out in less than 2½ years with time already served.
"Where's the justice in that?" her mother said yesterday. "He gets a virtual holiday and we're stuck with a life sentence. We saw him at the court. He looks healthier than he ever did when he was living around here."
The destroyed house, which is believed to have been part-owned by Ellis, is expected to be bulldozed.
