Last Pitcairn inmate leaves prison

Pitcairn Island's last prisoner has been released on home detention.

Brian Young, 54, was the last of 10 men convicted and jailed between 2004 of historic sex charges from 2004 to be freed from a specially-built prison on the island.

The now-empty prison may now be turned into a guest house, the Dominion Post reported.

Young, who had left the island for Auckland, was found guilty in 2007 of six charges of rape and three charges of indecent assault, some involving girls as young as seven.

He was sentenced to 6-1/2 years in prison, serving just over two years.

His trial was held at the Pitcairn Supreme Court, sitting in Papakura, south Auckland.

Human rights groups had voiced concerns about his effective solitary confinement after the other prisoners were released.

Pitcairn Island, which has a population of around 50, was founded nearly 220 years ago when mutineers seized the British ship Bounty, set its captain and some crew adrift and sailed to Pitcairn, halfway between New Zealand and Chile.

The 220th anniversary of the mutiny is on April 28.

- NZPA