Pitcairn sex abuse appeals rejected

Six men from Pitcairn Island yesterday lost Supreme Court appeals against their convictions for a string of sex attacks dating back 40 years on the tiny and remote Pacific home to descendants of the HMS Bounty mutiny.

Pitcairn’s Supreme Court, which sits in the New Zealand city of Auckland and operates as part of Britain’s legal system, rejected defence arguments that there had been an abuse of process at the men’s trial last year on the island, which has a year-round population of only 47.