Petition demands Auckland Police charge the ‘Roast Busters’ for bragging about rapes on Facebook
In a new petition on Care2.com, Julie Rodriguez calls for appropriate punishment for a group of teenage boys who have been bragging about brutal rapes on social media pages under the name “Roast Busters.” Posts from the group gave explicit details about underage drinking and group rape, naming their victims publicly and “slut-shaming” the girls. At least one of the victims was reported as attempting suicide.
photo Wset10
The group has been active since 2011, and four of the victims have come to the police to report the abuse. Despite this, police have neglected to charge the boys with any crime, and one of the boys is reported as having gone into hiding.
“The fact that the Auckland Police Department hasn’t taken any action in this case just goes to show that rape victims still aren’t taken seriously by law enforcement. Studies estimate that well over 90% of rapists go free without serving any jail time, and this case is a prime example of how that happens,” explained the petition creator, Julie Rodriguez.
“If we can show the Auckland police that the world is watching, and that we refuse to see this case swept under the rug, it won’t just help the victims of the Roast Busters over the last two years — it will help raise awareness of the struggle rape victims around the world face trying to bring their cases to court every day.”
According to an update dated Nov.8 on the petition from Ms. Rodriguez, “Disturbing new details have emerged in the Roast Busters case. It turns out that the statement by police that none of the victims had filed a formal complaint is not true – four of the victims have already gone to the police in the past two years. Despite this, the police are still declining to arrest or prosecute the three boys involved. It’s now more important than ever that we continue to put pressure on the Auckland Police department to take this case seriously and run a full investigation.”
