Island sex attackers jailed for up to six years

SIX men comprising half the adult males of Pitcairn Island were today sentenced for up to six years in prison for rapes and sex attacks dating back 40 years on the isolated Pacific home of the HMS Bounty mutineers.

Pitcairn mayor Steve Christian, who claims to be a direct descendent of mutiny leader Fletcher Christian, was convicted of five rapes of young women and sentenced to three years in prison.

Sentences for the other five ranged from community service to six years in prison, British authorities in New Zealand said.

The men’s trials lifted the lid on decades of sex abuse of young women and girls as young as five. Victims testified they often did not report the abuse because of the community’s culture of silence.

The sentences were suspended pending appeals by the men’s defence lawyers against Britain’s jurisdiction over the island.

"In setting the sentences, the court indicated it had taken into account factors such as [Pitcairn’s] isolation and the small number of able-bodied people among the population of 47," said Bryan Nicolson, British High Commission spokesman in Wellington.