Police say they are making 'steady progress' with their investigation into the group of Auckland teenagers who boasted online about having sex with drunk, and in some cases, underage girls.
Detective Inspector Karyn Malthus said on Thursday that the team was talking to several girls and the priority was their privacy, health and wellbeing. She said police were offering access to support services.
Ms Malthus said while she appreciated the high level of public interest, she could not give further details of the investigation.
Police have set up a freephone number for anyone with information about the so-called Roast Busters group and anyone who wanted to talk to the inquiry team could call 0800 672568 or 0800 Op Clover.
Petition presented
A petition has been presented to the Government asking for justice for the young women who were victimised by the group.
It was signed by more than 110,000 people in two weeks and given to National MP Louise Upston on the steps of Parliament on Thursday afternoon.
The petition also called for better funding for rape crisis centres, a focus on rape prevention and better support for survivors.
Petition organiser Jessie Hume said it was unacceptable that members of the Roast Busters group had not been prosecuted by the police.
Police had said they'd been monitoring the west Auckland group of 17- and 18-year-olds since 2011, but had not been able to lay charges because of a lack of evidence, despite one of the girls laying a formal complaint.
Ms Hume said there needed to be proper support services for people who had been raped or assaulted.
"The Government has severely stripped back funding to sexual violence services, to the point where many groups are unable to operate.
"We reckon every New Zealander has the right to access specialised sexual violence support with a problem of such epic proportions."
Jessie Hume says the Government had not taken the sex ring case in Auckland seriously enough.
Louise Upston says the Government shares public sentiment that the behaviour of the group is unacceptable.
