Two victims of Roast Busters' ringleader Joseph Parker have spoken out after learning he wrote a song referencing the incredibly traumatic chapter of their lives.
On Monday in an exclusive interview with Newshub's Karen Rutherford, former Roast Busters' ringleader Joseph Parker talked about his role in abhorrent group sex sessions between 2011-2013.
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Many of the girls involved, some of whom were from west Auckland, were drunk and underage.
Since leaving New Zealand for the United States four years ago, Mr Parker said he has changed "mentally and spiritually" and doesn't believe "we were the monsters people thought we were".
But the launch of a song by Mr Parker, with numerous references to his experience with the Roast Busters, has left two of his victims angry, including one who laid a rape complaint against him in 2013.
"He's been in the [United States] doing God knows what, but we're back here dealing with his. It still affects me every day," she told Newshub.
On Tuesday's Newshub Live at 6pm, Mr Parker's intentions for going public with his story will be explored, including asking if he is just seeking publicity as he attempts to launch a music career.
Questioned by Rutherford on if speaking out was an attempt to capitalise on the hurt the Roast Busters caused a lot of young women, Mr Parker said: "No, I would hope they don't think that... it's more of a declaration to say I want to turn the bad in my life into something that's good".
"It's in my blood I'm an artist naturally, it's not like I thought I'm going to write a song about the Roast Busters etc. I've been making music since before then, and as an artist you write about your life," he said.
But his now-20-year-old victim said that doesn't make the pain go away.
"He can explain this as much as he likes, but he's done his damage and I have no forgiveness."
Another of his victims said Mr Parker will never understand there are "so many of us still hurting".
"If he was 100 percent genuinely changed, that's great. But he doesn't seem like he is," she told Newshub.
New Zealanders in their thousands marched in the streets in November 2013, after the group of teenage boys were exposed for bragging online about the girls they claimed to have slept with.
Police conducted an extensive investigation into the Roast Busters, with 110 young women spoken to. Seven female victims and five suspects were identified, but no charges were ever laid.
But Mr Parker knows that with no time limit on reporting sexual offending, future charges by police are not out of the question.
With the case back in the spotlight, many on social media have called for members of the group to be charged with rape, but lawyer Marie Dyhrberg told the AM Show on Tuesday there was no reason for the case to be taken to court.
"You have both sides suffering, and are victims, and certainly the boys themselves were publically named and shamed, there is no question about that."
The officer in charge of the 2013 Roast Busters investigation, Detective Inspector Karyn Malthus, said at the time it was a "carefully considered decision" to not take the case to court.
A range of factors were considered such as the need for "a reasonable prospect of conviction for police to prosecute, the wishes of individual victims, admissible evidence available, the nature of the offence and the age of the parties at the time of the offending".
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) found victims had been previously let down by police during a 2011 investigation.
It said there was "a failure to undertake basic investigative tasks" and officers didn't consider "all available offences in reaching their decision not to charge".
Correction: This article did not previously differentiate between the 2011 and 2013 investigations into the Roast Busters. The IPCA criticisms related to the 2011 investigation, not the 2013 investigation as was previously insinuated. The 2013 investigation was not criticised by the IPCA.
Newshub.
