Pitcairn mayor and his son among seven sex abuse defendants

THE mayor of tiny Pitcairn Island - home to the descendants of the 18th-century Bounty mutineers - is among seven men accused in a string of sexual assaults in the isolated community dating back decades, court documents revealed today.

Steve Christian, one of the island’s most prominent members, is charged along with his son Randy and five other men, on 55 charges, including rape, indecent assault and gross indecency.

The court decided to reveal the identities of the accused because everyone on the island, with a population of just 47, already knew who they were, and because newspapers and internet sites outside Pitcairn’s jurisdiction had already published the names, said the trial’s chief justice Charles Blackie.