|
|
Allegations
of Sexual Abuse in NZ |
|
A terrified Rotorua
teenager hid for more than an hour after escaping from three youths who
gagged, bound and blindfolded her with her own clothing. They bailed up the girl
in a Rotorua reserve in daylight, shredding part of her school uniform to tie
her up. The three, thought to be aged between 15 and 17, also lopped off
chunks of the struggling girl's hair with scissors or a knife. "It is very
alarming," said Rotorua detective Lehi Hohaia. He revealed details of
the case in the hope that someone could help police find the attackers. Western Heights High
School, where the 14-year-old girl was a student, knew nothing of the attack
until it was made public yesterday. Mr Hohaia said the
teenager missed her school bus on Wednesday afternoon and walked about 500m
to a friend's house to arrange a ride to her home across the city. No one was
there, or at the home of a second friend she visited. On the way back to the
first house about 5.30pm, the girl passed three youths she did not know on
the corner of Fairview and Gordon Rds. One asked for a kiss
and, when she refused, the youths chased her through a reserve bordering
Western Heights Kindergarten. When they caught up,
the youths dragged her about 30m to a children's playground. They used the
teenager's long socks to gag and blindfold her, and tied her hands to the
side railings of a swing. Mr Hohaia said the
attackers cut off her shell necklace and cut strips from her school uniform
skirt for extra bindings. About 10cm was chopped
from the girl's hair. "There were clumps
of hair all over the place," said the detective. At that point the
teenager heard a man whistling to his dog nearby and the youths ran off. Mr Hohaia said she
managed to free herself and ran from the reserve to Kaitao Intermediate
School a block away, where she huddled, frozen, behind a concrete wall. He said the distraught
teenager was too embarrassed to seek help from nearby houses. "She didn't want
to be walking around with her dress cut off." A woman leaving a
meeting at the school about 7pm found her curled on the ground and called
police. Peter Kaua, the deputy
principal of Western Heights High School, said he had heard "not a
skerrick" about the assault. "Even the kids
haven't said anything," he said. "I would normally be the first to
know because of the nature of my job." Mr Hohaia said he was
worried about the possible sexual nature of the "nasty" attack. He
would like to hear from the man exercising his dog in the reserve about
5.30pm on Wednesday, and from motorists or residents with any information. The teenage victim said
one of her attackers was wearing cargo pants and a black hoodie. People with information
can contact Lehi Hohaia at the Rotorua police station on (07) 349-9423 or
0800 TIPOFF. |
