Island trial hears first guilty plea

By KATHY MARKS


The united front presented by the seven defendants in the Pitcairn child sex abuse trial has finally started to crumble, after Dennis Christian yesterday offered the first guilty pleas to the court on the semi-tropical island.

In a dramatic development, Christian, 49, pleaded guilty to one charge of indecent assault and two of sexual assault against young girls.

Crown prosecutors said they would offer no evidence in relation to a fourth charge because his victim was happy for it not to proceed, and because it would not affect his sentence.

Christian, who is descended from the Bounty's first mate, Fletcher Christian, was the first man on Pitcairn to acknowledge that criminal acts have been committed against young girls in past decades.

Detective Inspector Rob Vinson of Kent Police, who led the investigation into allegations of widespread child abuse in the British dependent territory, described the guilty pleas as "a significant development".

"Hopefully it's a sign of recognition by at least somebody on this island of the significance of the events that are taking place," he said. "To my mind, it's a process that it is important to go through."

The Pitcairn public prosecutor, Simon Moore, said he was pleased that Christian's two victims had been spared the ordeal of testifying.

Christian, the island's postmaster, admitted indecently assaulting a 12-year-old girl in the early 1980s, when he was in his late 20s. He also pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a girl of 12 to 14 over three years in the early 70s, when he was 16 to 18.

Justice Russell Johnson remanded him on bail until all seven trials have been completed.

Verdicts and any sentences will be delivered together at the end.

The trials will resume today, when the prosecution is expected to produce an hour-long police video interview with another of the accused, Steve Christian, the island's mayor.