Rape culture, "teen rape club" spark national protests in New Zealand

Thousands of New Zealanders took to the streets Saturday in a nationwide protest against the handling of the now famous Roast Busters case, declaring the rape culture of New Zealand a “national health crisis.”

Additionally, more than 100,000 men and women have come together to sign an online petition encouraging Prime Minister John Key to “bust the Roast Busters.” In a recent breakthrough, retired accountant Graham McCready has said that he wants to help victims with a private prosecution if the police continue to be inactive.

“There’s such a public interest that will drive this thing forward [that] I think a judge will bend over backwards to ensure it does,” McCready said.

McCready, the same man who pushed for a private prosecution in the John Banks electoral fraud case, believes that the naming and shaming of the rape victims on Facebook is enough to summons the perpetrators to court.

The Roast Busters, a six-man gang who cleverly derived their name as a play on “Ghostbusters,” have been dubbed a “teen rape club.” Allegedly, the group is responsible for raping drunk, underage girls and then bragging about their indiscretions on social media. 

According to Bill Searle, the Waitemata police District Commander Superintendent, the boys’ posting about their sexual assaults is “not enough to warrant a prosecution.”

However, speculation has risen that the real reason for the slow-moving prosecution is that one member of the group is the son of an international celebrity and another is the son of a New Zealand police officer.  As of today, there has still been no action taken against the boys.