• Two women claim they were abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men 21 years ago.
• Makere Edmonds-Piripi believes police mishandled the investigation and a lack of evidence has denied her justice.
• Police have now told the Herald they have thoroughly re-investigated the complaints and found insufficient evidence to prosecute.

WARNING: Contains graphic details of sexual assault

Two women who claim they were abducted and sexually assaulted as teens by four men in a van, believe the police investigation was bungled from the beginning and has now been abandoned.

Makere Edmonds-Piripi, now 36, was one of those girls. She said the crime - 21 years ago - ruined her life and she is frustrated she may never get closure.

When the Herald broke the story in December, police reopened the case file and said they would undertake additional inquiries.

Makere Edmonds-Piripi claims she was abducted and sexually assaulted as a teenager by several men in a van 21 years ago. Photo / Supplied

Edmonds-Piripi says a new detective was assigned to the case, who told her the investigation would probably be shelved - due to a lack of evidence.

She said it cost her personally to speak publicly about her ordeal in the hope her alleged abductors would be caught, and if police stop investigating she fears she may never get justice.

Police have now told the Herald their additional inquiries are complete.

A new police statement

Detective Inspector Scott Beard wrote in a statement to the Herald that Police have thoroughly re-investigated the sexual assault complaints from 2004, including re-speaking to the two complainants.

“Enquiries have been carried out across an initial 2004 investigation, as well as the reviews carried out in 2016 and 2024″ wrote Beard.

“Police have reached the same conclusion each time, in that there is insufficient evidence to justify any prosecution due to the Solicitor General Prosecution Guidelines not being met ...”

Police have thoroughly re-investigated ... There is insufficient evidence to justify any prosecution

Detective Inspector Scott Beard

He continued, “While Police training and processes around sexual assault investigations has improved greatly over the years, we are confident that our staff have worked to the best of their abilities with all the available information.

Makere Edmonds-Piripi and her friend claim they were kidnapped and sexually assaulted as teens. The police told the Herald there is insufficient evidence to prosecute. Photo / NZ Herald.

“Police currently have no plans to re-open this investigation. Should any new specific pieces of information come to light we will of course review this.”

What they claimed happened

Edmonds-Piripi previously told the Herald she and her friend Sophie*, who did not want to be identified, were on their way home from Myers Park on December 4, 2004, when their horrific ordeal began.

As the girls took a shortcut, they said they noticed a silver van with men in it. “They yelled at us to jump into their van. We told them to f*** off and leave us alone and carried on walking,” Sophie said.

“Then they grabbed us and chucked us into the van and drove off.”

Sophie claimed she was forced to perform oral sex on two men.

“I had never had sex before. I didn’t know what I was doing, I was only 14. The men were forceful, intimidating and called us ‘whores’.”

Makere Edmonds-Piripi says she was a teenager when she was abducted and sexually assaulted by men in a van over 3 days. She claims she was forced to drink urine and sperm. Photo / Supplied.

The friends said that for three days they had no water or food. They claim the men demanded oral sex and forced them to drink urine and sperm from a plastic mug.

Edmonds-Piripi said when they tried to refuse, they were beaten and abused.

She also claims she was sexually abused multiple times with a metal object.

“I felt so helpless,” she told the Herald. “I was in the back row of the van and Sophie was in the middle. They used a metal pole. It hurt a lot; I tried to block the pain. I was numb ... the only thing I could think about was trying to escape.”

Makere Edmonds-Piripi claims she was beaten and sexually assaulted multiple times with a metal object. Photo / Michael Craig

She claims her friend was beaten for crying and screaming too much - the kidnappers threatened to kill her and dump her body on Mt Eden - but when they arrived at the lookout a group of tourists scuppered their plans.

“They talked about getting rid of Sophie. We were warned if we asked the public for help, they would kill us,” Edmonds-Piripi said.

She said on the third day - as the van drove through Henderson in West Auckland - the pair were ready to make their bid for freedom.

“I thought ‘we have to get out of here’ and I yelled, ‘Sophie get out now!’” said Edmonds-Piripi.

“I was exhausted and frightened, but I lunged through the gap in the middle of the van, unlocked it and rolled out. Sophie was right behind me.

“A man tried to grab our legs ... I punched and kicked and screamed ‘Help, help’ the whole street could hear. Thankfully a man in the first house opened the door and said, ‘get in here, get in here,’” Edmonds-Piripi says.

Makere Edmonds-Piripi and Sophie want to thank the man they say took them in and comforted them when they escaped from their assailants. Photo / Michael Craig

She claimed their assailants waited outside the house for a few minutes before driving away. A man took them in, comforted them and called the police, she said.

“I have never forgotten him, Sophie said. ”He had a phone on the wall and a piano. I remember sitting on his couch and holding Makere’s hand. I am still dealing with the fact I could be dead. Thank goodness Makere had the strength to save us. The last thing the man said to the police was ‘look after these girls,’ she said.

The Police response at the time

Only one man was questioned by police at the time. DNA was gathered, and a person’s name was noted in the police file - but no charges were laid.

“The police told us one of the men said the sex was consensual,” Edmonds-Piripi told the Herald in December.

“That’s bull**** we were under-aged. I had lacerations in my vagina and there was DNA found in the van,” she claimed.

Makere Edmonds-Piripi says the police told her one of the assailants said the sex was consensual. Photo / Supplied

Police told the Herald DNA was never found in the van.

“They believed the men and let them walk free,” claimed Edmonds-Piripi.

The investigation revived in December

Edmonds-Piripi claims police told her in December that a new detective had been assigned to investigate her and Sophie’s case, and the pair met him face-to-face in March.

In audio recordings of that meeting on March 5, obtained by the Herald, the detective told the women

- The pair was found at a park, not a house

- Police were unable to find the man who let them into his home

- Sophie was the one who phoned 111

- There was no DNA in the van - it was on the girls’ necks.

Makere Edmonds-Piripi claimed there were inconsistencies and mixed messages across the meetings she's had with Police over 21 years, including one in March this year. Photo / Michael Craig

Edmonds-Piripi said she and Sophie have experienced inconsistencies and “mixed messages” in their two decades dealing with Police on the matter, including at that meeting.

She claimed Sophie couldn’t have phoned 111 as she didn’t have a mobile.

“We asked the detective if there was any evidence regarding my friend calling the police. He told us there was no telecommunications evidence as it only lasts seven years. He told us the information came from the original investigation but there are no notes,” she claimed.

According to Edmonds-Piripi the detective told her police only searched ratepayer’s data for the man she claims saved them.

“One minute the man exists, now he doesn’t. He is the key witness,the glue to putting everything together. I want to hug and thank him for saving us,” she told the Herald.

“They didn’t interview the ... other men because we were told policing back then was a lot different to now - it could have been done a lot better. We expected them to be helping us, but we feel like we are the ones who have done something wrong the way they speak to us, it’s like s***.

‘No plans to reopen this investigation’

“The most recent re-investigation highlighted several challenges for us,” continued Detective Inspector Scott Beard in his statement, “in that there were several matters at variance with statements provided to Police.”

“The van in question was located on the same morning Police were contacted in 2004.

“No DNA evidence was located in this vehicle, and the evidence obtained was from a neck swab from one of the complainants.

Makere Edmonds-Piripi said she was abducted and sexually abused. In a recent police re-investigation, three men not interviewed previously were spoken to but it didn't advance the investigation. Photo / Supplied

“No new information came to light in 2016 with this sample. The DNA obtained was a mixed sample and the three people with links to it were spoken to at the time.

“No independent witnesses have ever been identified in this case. A report of a man assisting the complainants near Hindmarsh Green at the time has never been substantiated, nor has any individual come forward in 20 years.

“In our recent re-investigation, three men not interviewed in 2004 were spoken to. There was no advancement in the investigation as a result.”

The alleged victim responds

“To go through what we’ve been through and knowing they are still out there and haven’t taken any accountability, is really demeaning. It sucks,” said Edmonds-Piripi.

Makere Edmonds-Piripi says knowing the men who abducted her are are still out there an haven't been held accountable is "demeaning and sucks." Photo / Michael Craig

She is critical of all the police investigations and frustrated by her 21-year wait.

“I don’t feel they [police] can keep me safe. I wouldn’t call them if anything happens because this has made me lose trust in them. I feel they’ve messed up and we’re paying for it.

“I’m terrified those monsters will take us again and kill us because we have gone to the police. They didn’t do their job properly back then and that’s affected how they are handling things now. All we want is justice and closure.”

Carolyne Meng-Yee is an Auckland-based investigative journalist who won Best Documentary at the Voyager Media Awards in 2022. She worked for the Herald on Sunday from 2007-2011 and rejoined the Herald in 2016 after working as an award-winning current affairs producer at TVNZ’s 60 Minutes, 20/20 and Sunday.