Pitcairn sex-accused named

By KATHY MARKS

PITCAIRN ISLAND - The court order suppressing the names of seven Pitcairners about to go on trial on multiple child sex abuse charges was lifted yesterday after a judge ruled there was no longer any reason to protect the men's identities.

Steve Christian, 53, mayor of the tiny British dependency in the South Pacific, will be the first to face trial in the threadbare public hall in Adamstown, Pitcairn's one settlement.

Christian, a descendant of Fletcher Christian, who fled to Pitcairn after the Bounty mutiny, is charged with six rapes and four indecent assaults between 1964 and 1975.

Christian's 30-year-old son, Randy, who is chairman of the island's public works committee, is also among the seven defendants. He has a small baby with his New Zealand wife, Nadine, who was the first woman to give birth on Pitcairn in 17 years.

Another father and son are facing court: Len Brown, 78, the oldest defendant, is charged with two rapes, and Dave Brown, 49, with 13 indecent assaults and two counts of gross indecency with a child.

Jay Warren, 48, a former Pitcairn magistrate, is also among the seven, as are Dennis Christian, the island's 49-year-old postmaster, and his best friend, Terry Young, 45.

As locals braced themselves for the opening of the trials, two female islanders yesterday rubbished claims by other women that Pitcairn girls commonly began having sex at the age of 12.

"That's a nonsense," said one woman yesterday.

Claims that alleged victims were intimidated and offered bribes in exchange for testifying were rejected by police yesterday.

Detective Inspector Rob Vinson of the Kent police said they were "a blatant attempt to manipulate the media, a last-ditch attempt to undermine this investigation".