One of the ringleaders of the notorious Roast Busters - a group of teens who boasted on social media about their sexual activity with underage girls - has broken his silence. / Newshub
Victims of the Roast Busters are in disbelief that he has recorded a song about the scandal, saying it is gross and wrong.
Some of the victims have spoken out to Newshub and say they have no forgiveness for the young men involved in Roast Busters.
Joseph Parker claims he is "born again" and has uploaded a video asking for people to fund his musical ambitions, days before an interview where he spoke out about the group for the first time.
When asked whether his timing in speaking out was a publicity stunt, Parker said "I would hope that they don't think that".
"It is more of a declaration for me saying this is what i want to do with my life. I want to turn the things I have done bad in my life into things that are good," he said.
One alleged rape victim told Newshub Parker had been off living in America, while she was back in New Zealand dealing with what happened every day.
She said he could explain his actions away all he liked, but the damage had been done.
Another said in a social media post that she almost killed herself because of what Roast Busters did, so why did he need to talk about his victims in his lyrics.
Parker said he was making music before the Roast Busters incident, and throughout the whole period.
"Naturally as an artist you write about your life," he said.
He said his intention was not to revictimise the women involved.
When asked whether his lyrics included an apology, he said "a little bit".
Parker told Newshub his life now revolved around church and he had been "saving himself for marriage for the last four years".
"The last time I went to a proper party was in New Zealand, which was like four years ago," he said.
He said he wasn't worried about any further reports to police because "anything that happens is going to happen for the good of God".
"I don't fear anything that might happen in the future. I am pretty content with the will of God being done regardless of what happens," he said.
Parker and Beraiah Hales gained national attention after they were alleged to have been the ringleaders of the Roast Busters, a group who bragged about having sex with girls as young as 13.
The group was investigated by police several times after a 13-year-old made a formal complaint in 2011.
At least four other girls came forward and made formal statements to police about the actions of the group.
No one was ever charged in relation to the allegations - despite the police investigation and an exhaustive review - due to a lack of evidence.
Beraiah Hales and Joseph Parker were members of a group called the Roast Busters who were investigated by police from 2011. Photo / supplied
Parker, son of actor Anthony Ray Parker, spoke out for the first time yesterday in what he said was an attempt to "make amends".
"I hope that they can see there is a change in my heart and they can see that I am here trying to make amends and make it better," he told Newshub.
"The police have all the details on every single complaint and they decided not to press charges for a reason."
Parker said he wasn't defending the actions of himself or the other members of the Roast Busters but said they weren't like everyone made them out to be.
"We did a lot of things wrong but at the same time we also weren't the monsters that everybody thought that we were, and we didn't do all the things that people thought we did," he said.
Joseph Levall Parker was thought to be one of the ringleaders of the Roast Busters. Photo / File
The 23-year-old acknowledged by doing the interview some of the people he hurt would be "exposed" to the history of the Roast Busters again.
However, he hoped those people could see he had changed since the incident.
Despite this, victims' advocate Louise Nicholas said today that Parker was only "sorry he got caught" and his decision to speak out about the group is "all about himself" and "his music career".
Parker uploaded a video asking for people to fund his musical ambitions days before his exclusive interview.
"What he is doing is not being remorseful at all. It's all about himself and he needs to step up and own what he and his mates have done in the past," Nicholas said.
"If he's truly remorseful then why doesn't he pick up the phone and talk to SAFE, an organisation that helps people who harm sexually, and say, I know what I did was wrong, what can I do to be better for myself and to ensure that if I see or hear anything, I can actually step up and be the right person?
"The fact that he actually apparently put a song together about their exploits ... just really? Nah, [it's] wrong."
She said if he was truly remorseful he should have spoken out earlier.
