Rapists of Pitcairn all free soon
Friday, May 16th, 2008Kathy Marks; 16/5/08
All of the Pitcairn men convicted of raping and sexually assaulting young girls on the remote South Pacific island are expected to be free by Christmas, after serving less than two years in a prison that some of them helped build. Eight men, all descendants of the Bounty mutineers who settled on Pitcairn in the 18th century, were convicted at trials held on the island in 2004 and in New Zealand in 2006. A ninth pleaded guilty. Six received prison sentences, which they began serving in late 2006 after their final appeal was rejected by the Privy Council in London, the highest court for British Overseas Territories. Despite the severity of their crimes, which included gang-raping a 10-year-old, the islanders were given jail terms of only two to 6½ years.
