Pitcairn Island in shock at verdicts

By KATHY MARKS

Until yesterday, they were all big men, swaggering round a tiny island. But in its sweltering courtroom, six Pitcairners were exposed for what they are: bullies, rapists and child-abusers.

Steve Christian, the island's mayor and tribal chieftain, was among five men found guilty by the Pitcairn Supreme Court yesterday.

A sixth, Dennis Christian, had already pleaded guilty.

Only Jay Warren left court without a blemish, cleared of one indecent assault charge.

Quashing the myth that the case was brought against men engaged in consensual under-age sex, the three New Zealand judges said they were utterly convinced by six of the seven victims who testified by video-link from Auckland.

The women painted a picture of a dysfunctional society where men raped and abused young girls almost casually.

Some victims had bottled up the abuse for 40 years, disclosing it only when British detectives approached them in 2000.

The Chief Justice, Charles Blackie, poured scorn on Steve Christian's claim that one of his victims had consented.

"She was 12 years old. He was 21," he said. "She was young, naive and vulnerable. She was secreted into the bushes and there the accused took advantage of her.

"There had been no affection, kissing or romantic connection. She did not want it to happen."

The tiny community founded by the Bounty mutineers was in shock after the verdicts. Few islanders had stepped inside the court to hear the evidence.

Yesterday, three generations of Pitcairn men stood in the dock and all three were found culpable.

Len Brown, 78 and barefoot, twice raped a teenager in a watermelon patch. Dave Brown, his 49-year-old son, carried out six indecent assaults.

Terry Young, 46, raped a girl every time she went to collect firewood.

Randy Christian, 30, raped a girl four times from the age of 10.

None of the guilty men commented yesterday. Steve Christian, 53, who cracked a joke on his way into court, left stony-faced. Dave Brown was in tears.

The judgments heralded the end of a dynasty that has controlled Pitcairn's public affairs while preying on its most vulnerable inhabitants in private.

Steve Christian assumed the right to sexually initiate girls of 12 or 13. Rivulets of sweat ran down his face as he was found guilty of five rapes.

Randy, taller and broader, also sweated profusely as he also saw prison loom.

The six will be sentenced on Thursday, although they will remain free on bail until legal argument about the trials' legitimacy is heard in Auckland and London.

It was Steve Christian who created a climate in which men felt they could rape girls with impunity.

By a neat irony, his son inadvertently exposed a culture of endemic abuse dating back perhaps generations. His principal victim complained to a visiting British police officer, prompting a wide-ranging investigation.

Despite the legal delays, it seems certain that at least three, and possibly six, men will serve sentences in the prison the seven defendants helped to build.

While their relatives have long warned that Pitcairn will collapse if so many able-bodied men are jailed, islanders unconnected with the case disagree. They say there will still be enough men to crew the longboats and carry out other public duties.

They also regard the trials as a necessary healing process that will enable the community to move on.

The verdicts will leave a power vacuum. Steve Christian's sister, Brenda, is planning to run for mayor in elections next month.

Matthew Forbes, the island's deputy governor, suggested that both Steve Christian and Randy, who is chairman of a key island committee, should resign. If not, the governor, Richard Fell, would step in "to ensure the best interests of the entire community are protected".

Inquiry head Detective Inspector Robert Vinson welcomed the verdicts, saying they "sent a strong message that the abuse of children is not acceptable in any culture."

Mr Vinson paid tribute to "the courage of a group of women who have stood firm and said 'enough is enough', despite the personal cost to themselves and their families".

Two NZ police officers phoned the victims to tell them of the verdicts.

Senior Constable Karen Vaughan told TVNZ: "They were all extremely relieved, as if a lifetime of emotional turmoil has been concluded."