Pitcairn men sentenced to jail for underage sex

4.15pm

SYDNEY - Four Pitcairn Island men were today sentenced by a British court to prison terms ranging from two to six years for raping underage girls on the remote South Pacific island.

Two other island men convicted of indecently assaulting girls were ordered to perform hundreds of hours of community service and to undergo counselling.

The sentences were tailored to Pitcairn's unique environment, said British Judge Charles Blackie in sentencing the descendants of the 18th century Bounty mutineers.

The guilty men had argued that underage sex had been an island tradition since the mutineers arrived with their Tahitian women in 1790.

"The penalties were tailored to Pitcairn and take into account the unique isolation, population of less than 50, and the dependence of manpower," said Bryan Nicolson, spokesman for the British High Commission in Wellington, New Zealand.

The sentences will not be carried out until legal challenges over Britain's jurisdiction over Pitcairn are heard in 2005.

Islanders fear the Pitcairn community, with a population of only 47, will not survive if the men are jailed. Many of the men operate the island's only boats, which are lifelines to the outside world, ferrying in essential supplies.

Pitcairn mayor Steve Christian, found guilty of five rapes including that of a 12-year-old girl, was sentenced to three years jail.

Christian, 53, a descendant of Fletcher Christian who led the Bounty mutiny in 1789, was the "leader of the pack" on the island and believed he had a right to have sex with young girls, the prosecution told the court during the trial.

His 30-year-old son Randy Christian, guilty of four rapes and five indecent assaults, was sentenced to six years.

Len Brown, 78, guilty of two rapes, was sentenced to two years, but can apply for home detention on the island.

His son Dave Brown, who pleaded guilty to indecent assaults, was ordered to perform 400 hours of community service and to attend counselling. Dennis Christian, Steve Christian's cousin, who pleaded guilty to indecent and sexual assaults, was ordered to perform 300 hours community service and attend counselling.

Terry Young, convicted of one rape and six indecent assaults, was sentenced to five years.

Jay Warren, Pitcairn's former magistrate, was found not guilty of indecent assault.

The charges against the men, which date back more than 40 years, followed a report by a British policewoman stationed on the island in 1999.

Their victims, now adults who testified via video from New Zealand, said they were treated as "sex things" as girls and raped at will under banyan trees or in garden sheds on Pitcairn.

The Pitcairn men are challenging Britain's right to prosecute them, arguing that British sovereignty ended when the mutineers sank the Bounty off the island in 1790.

They will present their case to the Privy Council, the highest court of appeal for Britain's overseas territories. The case is set down for 2005 and, if the appeal is upheld, the verdicts would be overturned.

In a second legal challenge, the men's lawyers argue that Britain never promulgated the under-age sex law even if it does have jurisdiction.

- REUTERS