Teenage girl attacked outside Rotorua Library prompts increased police presence in the area

The latest incident happened on the Haupapa St side of the public library. File Photo / Andrew Warner

A teenage girl has been treated for injuries after an alleged assault by three others outside Rotorua Library.

It comes less than a week after an intermediate student, 13, was left bloodied after she was repeatedly punched in the face by a stranger while waiting for a bus outside Rotorua Library.

Last week, it was also revealed that Rotorua Lakes Council stopped using a security company’s patrol services three weeks before last week’s bloody attack happened.

In this latest incident, Rotorua police prevention manager Inspector Phil Gillbanks said police were investigating after a 15-year-old was assaulted about 3.35pm on Monday outside the library on Haupapa St.

She needed medical treatment for her moderate injuries.

Gillbanks said she was assaulted by three other girls, and it is believed that the girls “may all be known to each other”.

Rotorua police prevention manager Inspector Phil Gillbanks.

Police have CCTV footage and will speak with the victim when she is feeling better.

He said police have “made good progress” with the investigation and are “confident those involved will be held accountable”.

“While we do not believe this a random incident, police are treating it extremely seriously and will have no tolerance for this type of behaviour,” he said.

“We know that it is highly concerning for our community in light of the attack last week and we want to assure our community that we are working closely with our partners including the Rotorua Council and Oranga Tamariki to address these issues.

“We will be increasing our presence in the area and the public can expect to see this continue particularly after school.”

In a statement from Rotorua Lakes Council, mayor Tania Tapsell said the calls for more police in the city were “even more urgent” and said the council had “gone beyond our core responsibilities” to address crime and improve community safety in the city, including paying for security staff in the area.

Rotorua mother Tashita Morey was horrified to see her daughter, 13, was beaten at a Rotorua bus stop outside the library.

“It is beyond belief that this has happened again in such a short timeframe,” she said.

She said three alleged offenders were identified through the council’s CCTV footage, and the partnership with police meant they were identified quickly.

“Out of necessity community safety has become a top priority of our council.”

She said the council has “gone beyond our core responsibilities” and were doing what they could to address crime and improve community safety in the city, including paying for security staff in the area.

“I wrote to the Minister for Police last week urgently requesting greater Police resourcing to assist with visibility and responsiveness. We are yet to hear back but I will be pursuing this with urgency,” she said.

“Our thoughts are with the victim and her family. This should not have happened.

“Addressing crime and disorder, and adequately resourcing police to do so must be a top priority for the Government.”

Last week, Police Minister Ginny Andersen called the incident “abhorrent”.

Responding to Tapsell’s comments about more resources, she said the Government had resourced Police over the past six years, including increasing constabulary numbers by 1800 and the police budget by 50 per cent.

She said her job was to ensure police had the resources they needed and specific concerns about deployment of staff and resources should be directed to the Police Commissioner.

The Police Minister has been approached for further comment.