PITCAIRN ISLANDS: Six descendants of the original mutineers on the Bounty were found guilty yesterday of 32 sexual assault offences in one of the last and remotest outposts of the British empire, writes David Fickling in Sydney.
The verdict could eventually place half the island's able-bodied men behind the bars of the island's jail. They are due to be sentenced on Thursday, but the proceedings will remain subject to appeal.
The six found guilty yesterday all claim descent from the men who settled on Pitcairn, (population 47), which lies 4,000 miles east of New Zealand, after the infamous 1789 mutiny.
The month-long trial, conducted under British and Pitcairn flags in island's whitewashed courtroom, was only sporadically attended by the islanders, many of whom regarded it from the outset as an unwelcome imposition. "The outcome comes as no surprise to us," Mr Mike Warren wrote in an e-mail after the verdict yesterday.
"We believe this whole thing was a set-up from the beginning, and no matter how well the defence argued the case, they were fighting a losing battle."
The mayor, Steve Christian,(50), and his son Randy, (28), sweated profusely in the subtropical heat as they were found guilty on 14 counts of rape and indecent assault.
Steve Christian was found guilty of five rapes on girls as young as 11, Randy of four rapes and five indecent assaults.
Steve Christian's brother-in-law Dave Brown, (46), entered the court with laughter but left in tears after he was found guilty on six charges of indecent assault, in addition to three indecency charges to which he had already pleaded guilty. Steve Christian's father-in-law, Len Brown, (78), was found guilty of two rapes dating back to the 1960s, and Terry Young and Dennis Christian were found guilty of 10 rapes and indecent assaults.
In all, 32 of the 55 charges brought to trial received guilty verdicts. Only the island magistrate Mr Jay Warren was cleared of all charges.