Roast Busters, Rape and the Demise of the Auckland Police Department's Credibility

Once there was a group of young sociopaths who thought it would be really cool to intoxicate young girls, rape them and then brag about it on Facebook.

While many a criminal has been caught after bragging about their crimes on Facebook or filming themselves confessing, these boys still have their freedom-despite the fact that police in Auckland knew of their Facebook page for two years and allowed them to continue using it.

Police claim it was for "operational and tactical reasons."

It would appear that their tactics involved letting the boys rape with impunity and then watching them brag about it afterwards.

When public pressure fell on the department to do something, Detective Inspector Bruce Scott said, "There's nothing more the police can do to take the case to court unless one of the girls lays an official complaint."

He added, "None of the girls have been brave enough [sic] to make formal statements to us so we can take it to a prosecution stage or even consider a prosecution stage."

Here are some more gems from the mouth of Detective Inspector Scott as per an article in the NZ Herald:

He insisted the group had been "vigorously investigated'' but that there was nothing more police could have done to bring a case to court.

"We continue to look for evidence that will assist us in determining whether there has been any criminal offending and then once we've got this evidence we can make a determination on what our next move is,'' he said.

"We continue to talk with girls involved in the group. The difficulty is that we don't want to re-victimise the girls, some of them don't wish to engage with us and we can't push them to talk to the police.''

Mr Scott told 3 News the fact that one of those involved in the Roast Busters' page was the son of a police officer had not influenced the inquiry or the decision not to prosecute."

That's right, one of those affiliated with the group is the son of a police officer. 

The NZ Herald reports that his name is Tristan Burrow and he is the son of Constable Craig Burrow. 

Another is the son of Anthony Ray Parker, a bit actor who was in the movie "The Matrix." There is a picture of him making a duck face in one of the Herald articles and he is quoted as saying the situation is a "family matter." 

Apparently, he doesn't understand that having sex with an incapacitated minor and then bragging about it in front of the entire internet makes it a matter for the girls' family, the authorities and anyone with a shred of decency who feels outraged that nothing has been done. 

The two shitbags participants who have become the face of "Roast Busters" are Parker's son, Joseph Parker and Beraiah Hales. 

Aside from being obvious misogynists the two seem to have some sort of homoerotic fixation on each other-although they both deny this.

Further scandal erupted when one of the victims came forward to speak with 3 News this week and told them she had filed a complaint with the police in 2011. 

She was 13-years old at the time and says she was made to re-enact what happened to her using dolls. 

The victim told the news that the police:

"Asked a lot of questions about what I was wearing, and I why I went out in a skirt...they said that I didn't have enough evidence to show, because I went out in clothes that were pretty much asking for it".

In an Op/Ed written for today's Herald, Toby Manhire says that four victims have actually filed charges in 2011 and 2012. Of the four, three were 13 years old. 

In New Zealand the age of consent is 16. 

When certain idiots in the media try to make arguments about whether or not the girls were sober enough to consent to sex they should be reminded that these children were legally unable to do so and that what happened to them was statutory rape.

The victim who spoke with 3 News said that in going to the police she was trying to prevent these boys from doing what they had done to her to someone else. 

Instead, what she found was an incompetent and draconian-minded police interviewer who thought her choice of clothing might have tempted those boys to lose control of themselves. 

And what a surprise that they concluded there wasn't enough evidence to pursue the matter.

Just to recap: a bunch of guys bragging about the sex they had with an underage girls and one of the underage girls reporting the same thing to the police wasn't enough to take the matter to court.

I guess in Auckland building a "strong case" for rape involves getting the whole act on camera, extracting a signed confession from the rapist, and getting two (preferably male) pillars of the community to vouch that the girl didn't do anything to bring the rape upon herself.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to learn that the parent of the rapist who works as a policeman had a hand in trying to make this whole thing disappear.

Thankfully, an outraged public has made sure that's not going to happen.

* Update The following is a link to Jessica Hume's Change.org petition calling for government action against the Roast Busters:

http://www.change.org/petitions/prime-minister-john-key-bust-the-roast-busters-and-show-you-take-sexual-violence-seriously?share_id=ebLLcJOnhG&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition