Another Pitcairn islander faces rape charges

A Pitcairn islander accused of rape appeared before the tiny island’s court in New Zealand today, becoming the eighth man from the famous refuge of the Bounty mutineers to face such allegations.

The 29-year-old appeared voluntarily after consenting to a British government extradition warrant during a hearing in Australia last month.

He no longer lives on the Pacific island and faces three charges of rape allegedly committed against one young woman, the Auckland court was told.

Two further counts of indecent assault were withdrawn by Crown prosecutor Christine Gordon after a second woman withdrew her complaint against the defendant, who cannot be identified.

Just 47 people live on Pitcairn, one mile wide and three two miles long, and located halfway between New Zealand and Peru in the mid-Pacific.

The island is home to descendants of naval mutineers from HMS Bounty, and is administered by a British-appointed governor based in New Zealand.

The court was told the three assaults, alleged to have been committed “in the banana trees near the molasses shed” and at “Big Fence” on Pitcairn, took place between September 1994 and October 1996.

The defendant entered no formal plea to the charges and was remanded on bail by Pitcairn magistrate Gray Cameron.

Bail conditions prevent him from leaving New Zealand or contacting alleged victims in this or any other Pitcairn sex abuse case.

Prosecutors have said another four former Pitcairn men, now residents of New Zealand, will be extradited shortly to face sex abuse charges relating to events on the island up to 40 years ago.

Last October six Pitcairn men were convicted of sex offences and sentenced to terms from six years in prison to community service.