6 Pitcairn Islanders Sentenced

The mayor of Pitcairn Island and five other men were sentenced to as many as six years in prison for sexual offenses against girls on the isolated home of descendants of the Bounty mutineers, British authorities in New Zealand said today.

Mayor Steve Christian, 53, who claims to be a descendant of mutiny leader Fletcher Christian, and the others had been convicted of attacks dating back four decades. Christian, convicted of five rapes, received three years in prison.

His son, Randy, 30, was sentenced to six years for four rapes and five indecent assaults.

Terry Young, 45, received five years for one rape and six indecent assaults.

Len Brown, 78, the mayor’s father-in-law, was convicted of two rapes and sentenced to two years. His son, Dave, and the mayor’s cousin, Dennis Christian, both 49, were sentenced to community service.