Rampant' sexual activity in Kuirau Park

A Rotorua grandfather was disgusted and sickened when he and his two grandchildren spotted men engaged in sex acts in broad daylight at Kuirau Park.
About 3pm last Thursday the man, who didn't want to be named, said he had taken his grandchildren, aged 13 and 6, to the Aquatic Centre for a swim and they had asked if they could see the hot pools in nearby Kuirau Park.
As the trio wandered through the park, at the first hot spring they walked towards, he saw a man masturbating and turned the children around a corner so they wouldn't see it.
They were then confronted by the sight of two men engaged in sexual activity beside a fence.
"The 6-year-old asked me what they were doing with their pants down - what do you say?
"We certainly didn't hang around, that's for sure. All I wanted to do was throw up and run like hell, it disgusted me to be honest," the horrified grandfather said.
He waited a few days before calling police.
"They told me they were aware of the situation and were monitoring it."
The man said he understood "that sort of thing" went on in all towns and cities but "not blatantly, in the middle of a well-used path in broad daylight - that's just over the top.
"Why do they have to do this in public? I'm not the only one walking round Kuirau Park with children."
He said the three men looked between 30 and 40 years old.
Rotorua district councillor Charles Sturt said he was contacted by the man asking if he was aware what was happening in the park and went to look for himself.
"I was disgusted at what I saw," Mr Sturt said.
"Piles of condom packets, used condoms, clothing and even phone numbers on the railings of the fences advertising services.
"The person who advised me of this said these people did not appear to be street people or homeless, in fact one person was very well dressed," Mr Sturt said.
He said the patches of manuka, cabbage trees and scrub where the sexual activity was happening should be removed or cut back to discourage people from hiding there.
"What I saw is sick and the sexual activity seems to be rampant and needs to be stopped."
Mr Sturt said he would be raising the issue at the next meeting of the council's Infrastructure Services Committee on Tuesday.
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.
Rotorua police area commander Inspector Bruce Horne said his staff were consistently disappointed by some of the activity and behaviour in Kuirau Park - but he needed the public's help to stop it.
"Unfortunately, undesirable or illegal behaviour in Kuirau Park has been an ongoing issue for years," Mr Horne said. "District council staff and Rotorua police staff regularly patrol the area in an effort to prevent this activity taking place and catch offenders.
"But we can't have a police officer in the park 24/7, so we need the help of the community to be our eyes and ears and to alert us immediately if they see or know about undesirable or illegal activity."
Mr Horne said the possibility of catching offenders was sometimes hampered because people didn't contact police until hours - sometimes days - after they had seen something.
"Timely apprehension and prosecution sends a clear message to offenders that if they misbehave in Kuirau Park, they will be seen and they will be caught.
"This approach will help keep Kuirau Park the safe and enjoyable public place that it should be for tourists and locals alike."
If you see anything suspicious or untoward in Kuirau Park contact the police immediately on 0800 TIP OFF.