Girl in CYF care working as stripper

A 15-year-old girl in the care of Child, Youth and Family has been found working as a stripper in a Nelson nightclub.

The girl's father, who was not identified, said last night that police were powerless to stop his daughter working in a strip joint.

"It disgusts me, and police are also disgusted, but their lawyers tell them there's no legal age minimum for strippers," he told the Holmes.

"It's a hole in the law that these club owners are exploiting."

Nelson MP, National's Nick Smith, said it was "disgraceful" that the law allowed 15-year-olds to work as strippers.

By closing residential facilities, the Government was failing young people, he said.

The girl's father said he had had "suspicions" for about six weeks but his fears were confirmed when his youngest daughter saw her sister on the catwalk.

"I'm probably the same as most fathers - I don't want to walk into a bar and see my daughter with no clothes on."

Police picked the girl up from the strip joint on Sunday night.

The father said he blamed the club owner but was also angry at CYF.

"They have custody of my daughter, it's a care and protection order, and they're not caring for and protecting her," he said.

"She skipped their house 10 days ago and basically they've made very little attempt to find her."

He said he had told CYF where his daughter was and had taken her home twice.

"But as soon as we're asleep she's gone, back to the same environment.

"This afternoon ... I took her back to CYF so they could place her in a secure home. Just 10 minutes later they ring me back to say she's no longer there."

CYF's general manager, Vernon Smith, said the situation was complex but CYF would continue to work closely with the police and the girl's family to resolve the issues .

"CYF cannot as a matter of course lock young people away but it accepts responsibility to gain the trust of young people, to make a connection with them - and to put adults around them who can supervise and care for them."

Inspector Brian McGurk, Nelson Bays area controller, told Holmes that police were doing everything the law allowed them to do.

"We've picked up this young girl lots of times, this latest example is just a classic example of us working closely with our partner agencies looking after this girl's interests," he said.

The girl was in the temporary care of CYF and was not subject to residential conditions.

Putting her in residential care would not achieve "long-term solutions".

- NZPA