Pitcairn Island, one of the remotest communities in the world, is embroiled in another controversy involving underage sexual activity after its former mayor was found guilty of possessing more than 1,000 images and videos depicting child abuse — the eighth man out of a total male population of around 12 to be accused of sex crimes involving children.
Michael Warren, who served as mayor of the tiny South Pacific island from 2008 to 2013, could become the only inmate in the island's prison, after being handed a 20-month sentence by a court in New Zealand for charges stemming back as far as 2004.
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It is not yet known whether Warren will serve his sentence as the only inmate at the island's prison facility, which was constructed in 2004 by the men found guilty of sex crimes against young girls.
Those charges resulted in sentences ranging from community service to six years' imprisonment for the defendants, who included then-Mayor Steve Christian and his son Randy. At the time of the trial, the court responsible said the sentences were relatively short in response to the special circumstances of the island. Ever since, the island has been attempting to rehabilitate its image in an effort to encourage the immigration it needs to maintain its population.
At their trial, the arrested men insisted sexual activity between grown men and young girls was a long-standing feature of life on the island, based on cultural traditions stemming from the Polynesians who had been some of the island's original settlers. A study of island records and anecdotal evidence found that most of the women on the island had their first child between the ages of 12 and 15.
Michael Warren, who served as mayor of the tiny South Pacific island from 2008 to 2013, could become the only inmate in the island's prison, after being handed a 20-month sentence by a court in New Zealand for charges stemming back as far as 2004.
MORE IN ARTICLE
It is not yet known whether Warren will serve his sentence as the only inmate at the island's prison facility, which was constructed in 2004 by the men found guilty of sex crimes against young girls.
Those charges resulted in sentences ranging from community service to six years' imprisonment for the defendants, who included then-Mayor Steve Christian and his son Randy. At the time of the trial, the court responsible said the sentences were relatively short in response to the special circumstances of the island. Ever since, the island has been attempting to rehabilitate its image in an effort to encourage the immigration it needs to maintain its population.
At their trial, the arrested men insisted sexual activity between grown men and young girls was a long-standing feature of life on the island, based on cultural traditions stemming from the Polynesians who had been some of the island's original settlers. A study of island records and anecdotal evidence found that most of the women on the island had their first child between the ages of 12 and 15.