Re: Pitcairn men sentenced to jail for underage sex

From: Herman (arminius22308_at_lycos.com)
Date: 10/30/04 

Date: 30 Oct 2004 07:28:12 -0700

indigoace@aolxxx.com (Anne Warfield) wrote in message news:<41859429.261395187@news.prodigy.net>...
> From the New Zealand Herald--
>
> Pitcairn men sentenced to jail for underage sex
>
> 29.10.2004
> 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
> http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3605330&thesection=news&thesubsection=world&thesecondsubsection=

Was the 78 y.o. guy plugging or just eating their snatches?

Hank

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