KEY POINTS:
Police are warning walkers against taking shortcuts after dark through a central Whangarei park after a schoolgirl was raped.
The 14-year-old victim was approached by three older teenagers, two male and one female, as she walked through Tarewa Park on Friday night.
Detective Sergeant Rob Huys said the victim was attacked and raped by one of the young men a short time later.
The girl managed to alert a member of the public soon afterwards and police are now looking for two Maori youths, one aged 17 and the other between 15 and 20, and a young Maori woman of 15 or 16.
The older man has dark, short spiky hair and a muscular build. The younger male is tall and slim and the woman is also said to be slim with dark hair tied in a pony-tail.
Mr Huys said yesterday the victim was recovering with her family.
He advised people walking in the area at night to use the well-lit footpath in Otaika Rd where there was a lot of traffic, even if it took several minutes longer than walking through the park.
He thought the attack was opportunistic rather than planned.
Police want to hear from residents with properties less than 100m away from the area who might have seen or heard anything suspicious around 10pm on Friday. The number to call is (09) 430-4500.
