Pitcairn leader 'used his power to rape'

A descendant of Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian used his power as "leader of the pack" on Pitcairn Island to rape and indecently assault girls as young as 12, a court heard today.

Steve Christian, 53, the island's mayor, was the first of seven men to go on trial for sex offences stretching back 40 years.

He is accused of raping two women when they were girls and having consensual sex with under-age females. His son Randy is among the seven accused, who make up almost half the remote Pacific island's adult male population.

Simon Moore, prosecuting, said Christian displayed a "callous and cavalier" attitude to his victims. "Even as a teenager, Steve Christian was a prominent and influential figure within his peer group," he said. "He was leader of the pack. It was as if he was exercising some right he believed to be his."

Christian committed the offences when he was between 13 and 24, Mr Moore added. He was 15 when he raped a 12-yearold as two others held her, the court heard.

In testimony via video link from Auckland, the first prosecution witness described how as a girl of 11 or 12 she was taunted for being of mixed race and had been raped by Steve Christian four times.

The other accused are Len Brown and his son David, Dennis Christian, Terry Young and Jay Warren. All except Warren trace their descent to the Bounty mutineers of 1790.

The community hall on the island, which is British territory, has been converted into two courts staffed by judges and lawyers from New Zealand but operating under British law.

The trial continues.