Manhunt after girl attacked in park

File photo / NZ Herald

Police say an attack by a man on a 15-year-old girl may have been sexually motivated.

The girl was attacked in Rotorua's Kuirau Park about 7.40pm Sunday, according to police who are now hunting the man responsible.

The incident comes only weeks after a 5-year-old girl was attacked in a Turangi campground.

A 13-year-old Rotorua girl was assaulted in a reserve in the suburb of Fordlands in late November.

Kuirau Park is an area known for sexual activity. Last year a Rotorua grandfather who spoke to The Daily Post but who did not want to be identified, said he was disgusted when he and his two grandchildren spotted men engaged in sex acts in broad daylight in the park.

They were then confronted by the sight of two men engaged in sexual activity beside a fence.

At the time, the council's parks and recreation manager Garry Page said he was aware of the situation but not the extent to which it was happening.

"It's a hard one to control. Cleaning that stuff up is not a pleasant task for anyone, but it has been going on for some time."

Mr Page said a police sting of people using the old Kuirau Park toilets for sex about 10 years ago may have moved the problem from the toilets to the bushes.

The Rotorua District Council has done a lot of work in the park during the past few years to open the park up by cutting down trees and trimming back bushes, making it safer for people to walk through.