Pitcairn appeal verdict due next month

An appeal by six Pitcairn men against their convictions on serious sex abuse charges in a case that drew international attention ended in New Zealand today, with judges expected to deliver a verdict in mid-May.

Lawyers for the men and the British government made their closing arguments to the three-judge bench of the Pitcairn Supreme Court, which convened in the northern city of Auckland.

The six were convicted last year under British law on charges of rape and indecent assault of mostly under-age girls over a 40-year period. Four of the men face prison terms if their appeals are dismissed; the judges are scheduled to deliver their verdict on May 13.

The men argued they were unaware British law applied to the remote Pacific island, populated in the 18th century by mutineers from HMS Bounty, and that their trial was unfair.

The defendants, who remain free on Pitcairn pending the appeal outcome, watched the proceedings via a satellite video link.

British government prosecutors argued Pitcairn residents were subject to Britain’s laws, including those relating to sexual offences, for most of the island’s 200-year history. They said British jurisdiction over the island began as early as 1838, when island residents sought legal protection from Britain and flew a British flag.

In a separate appeal to Britain’s Privy Council, the highest appeal court for many British colonies and former colonies, the islanders also have challenged Britain’s jurisdiction over the island, arguing it has never had control over Pitcairn and therefore, its legal system doesn’t apply. A date has yet to be set for that hearing.

Pitcairn has long fascinated the world for being the refuge of men who mutinied aboard the Bounty in 1789. They later settled on Pitcairn along with Tahitian brides.