Pitcairn’s sex abuse trials to start

THE sex abuse trials of seven men from Pitcairn Island will begin on Monday, on the remote British outpost in the South Pacific that is home to the descendants of the Bounty mutineers.

The trials had originally been due to open today but will start next week due to logistical problems of setting up courts on the island, said Bryan Nicholson, press officer for Britain’s High Commission in Wellington, New Zealand.

It was unlikely any cases would be called on Monday, he said. The day would probably ‘be spent laying the groundwork for the trial, telling counsel and others what is likely to take place’.