Let Go of the Past, Pitcairn Island’s New Mayor Urges

Pitcairn Island’s new mayor Thursday condemned the sex crimes that have divided the tiny South Pacific community, and urged islanders to put the past behind them.

Late last month, six Pitcairn men -- nearly half of the island’s adult male population -- were convicted of rapes and sex attacks dating back as far as 40 years on the remote island, located midway between New Zealand and South America.

Former Mayor Steve Christian, 53, who claims to be a direct descendant of Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian, was convicted of five rapes and sentenced to three years in prison.

British authorities last week fired Christian as mayor, and his 30-year-old son, Randy -- who also was convicted of sex crimes -- as chairman of a key island committee, after the pair refused to resign.

Brenda Christian, sister of Steve Christian, and the island’s only police officer, was appointed mayor by the island’s seven-member governing council until a Dec. 15 election.

She will preside over a 47-member community still coming to terms with the verdicts.

“Every one of us will have to pull together, regardless of the past,” she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

However, Mayor Christian said there could be “no excuse” for the men’s sexually predatory behavior.

“No person should have sexual intercourse with any children,” she said.

The men’s sentences, as little as community service and as much as six years in prison, will not begin until next year at the earliest, after appeals.

Mayor Christian rejected any suggestion that the island community -- which is heavily dependent on fishing and subsistence farming -- could not afford to imprison any of its able-bodied men.

“The island can survive with people who are prepared to make it survive,” she said.

“You can’t change the past, but you can change the future,” she said. “You can make it a more attractive place for tourism.”