Roast Busters' Joseph Lavell Parker (left) and Beraiah Hales. Source: Supplied
POLICE in New Zealand have been slammed for a botched investigation into a group of teenage boys who called themselves Roast Busters and boasted about having sex with intoxicated and allegedly underage girls.
An independent report into the horrific affair said the young victims were "let down" by police's initial handling of the case.
The Roast Busters, a play on "Ghostbusters", were a group made up of mainly privileged West Auckland youths who bragged on a Facebook page about their exploits with girls, some said to be as young as 13.
"My first actual roast for the Roast Busters was bad, it was fun, I felt like the man. I thought this is going to go big, everyone is going to know about the Roast Busters," one of the gang members posted on Facebook about his exploits.
The Roast Busters were accused of plying underage girls with alcohol, and then, once they were intoxicated having sex with them.
Once the act had been completed, the boys posted videos of their exploits to social media in an attempt to name and shame their victims which also resulted in them feeling too ashamed to come forward to police.
Their actions appalled New Zealanders but the scandal soon engulfed police themselves who came under fire for their response.
One of the Roast Busters was the son of a police officer — but there is no suggestion that played a role in how police reacted.
Investigated ... "Roast Busters" Beraiah Hales and Joseph Lavell Parker Source: Supplied
Police said there was not enough evidence to charge the so-called Roast Busters. Source: Supplied
This week the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) found victims were "let down", the New Zealand Herald reports.
IPCA Chairman Judge David Carruthers said the authority investigated whether there was any police misconduct or any failure of police practice, policy or procedure in the handling of seven separate reports made to them in relation to the Roast Busters.
The authority found that investigating staff treated complainants with "courtesy and compassion" but investigators were not "robust and thorough".
"In a number of cases police failed to adhere to the basic tenets of any form of criminal investigation."
Judge Carruthers also said police failed to undertake adequate follow up inquiries and pursue positive lines of inquiry.
To further complicate matters, he said there was also a lack of record keeping and assessment of evidence during investigations.
The Roast Busters Facebook page Source: Supplied
The report also found officers tended to approach each case on a "case by case" basis to consider whether there was sufficient evidence to prosecute offenders for sexual violation.
Instead, they should have identified connections between the various cases.
As a result, "victims were let down by their failure to do so."
Judge Carruthers said details of alleged offenders were not correctly recorded in the police computer system.
"Moreover, police did not check whether the young men had been involved in any previous incidents."
Another aspect of the investigation that has been criticised was he authority's report was investigating officers failure to properly consider alternative action.
Judge Carruthers said only one of the young men was ever the subject of a referral to Child Youth and Family, government agency that deals with child welfare. "In one case, initial suspect interviews were held with the young men, but there was no further contact after that.
"In the other cases, officers did not speak to the young men or their parents during or at the conclusion of their investigations," Judge Carruthers said.
Two of the boys appeared in a video, boasting of their sexual exploits, which was posted online. Source: Supplied
He said the officers' contact and interaction with young men who were the subjects of the investigations and their families was "inadequate or non-existent".
Police need to do 'whatever [was] possible'.
Complaint was made about a group of about five boys but the two alleged main offenders, Joseph Lavell Parker and Beraiah Hales, were the centre of the investigation.
A screenshot of the Roast Busters Facebook page before it was removed. Source: Supplied
They could not be charged though through lack of evidence.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush has apologised "unreservedly" and says police will reach out to complainants in the Roast Busters case.
Mr Bush said he completely accepted the IPCA findings and police officers need to do "Whatever possible" to stop a repeat of the kind of sexual conduct that outraged New Zealand when the scandal broke.
A victim spoke to New Zealand media about her ordeal. Source: Supplied
He did not believe the reprimanded officers would or should be sacked.
"They were well-trained. It was a lapse in performance at this point in time."
Mr Bush maintained Operation Clover was a "comprehensive" investigation.
"I'm very disappointed," Mr Bush added.
However, he said staff failures were isolated incidents and the officers criticised in the IPCA report were no longer on the child protection or sexual assault investigation teams.
Mr Bush confirmed Waitemata area commander Bill Searle would conduct a performance appraisal to determine where "accountability sits" in relation to police failures.
"Remedial actions will help prevent such situations arising again," Mr Bush said.
In his only interview, Hales told of his belief that he would not be charged and of how the controversy had made him "the most hated man in New Zealand".
"It wasn't the police that put it on the news, it was the media. And also the police haven't done anything wrong here ... As long as I know the truth I'll be fine," he told New Zealand Herald.
A group of young Auckland men are using social media to recruit girls - some underage - for group sex sessions. Courtesy 3 News
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