That's good

Two more Pitcairn sex offenders sentenced to prison

I've followed this story for a couple of years now. It's distinguished from other cases in four ways:

1. The small, tight-knit community of about 50 people--nine families--many interrelated
2. The notoriety of Pitcairn, the island where Fletcher Christian and the other HMAV Bounty mutineers took Tahitian wives (some perhaps by force) and settled
3. The isolation of the island, half-way between New Zealand and Peru
4. The length of time this has been going on--four decades--becoming a culture of abuse

That brings a total of 8 men who have been sentenced in this scandal, including a former Mayor and a former Magistrate and representing a good chunk of the able-bodied men on the island. The British government, which claims sovereignty in this matter, will house the men in a prison built on the island in response to the convictions.

There have been several challenges in these cases, both in whether the British government does, indeed, have jurisdiction, and claims that sex with girls as young as 12 was seen as normal from the island's founding based on Polynesian customs. (The allegations, however, include girls as young as five).

Custom or not, it's obvious that this setup was very convenient for the men and devastating to the girls, judging from testimony, and certainly did not follow normal consensual parameters, if such young girls can even be said to have the ability to consent. It's good that these trials are putting it to an end and making the perpetrators accountable for their actions.

It's divided the community terribly, of course, and with it struggling with such a low population it may sound a death knell for Pitcairn. But this was important to bring to light regardless on the effect of the island. Hopefully, future children of the islanders will not have to worry about being raped in the underbrush. Kudos for those (outsiders, such as a policewoman and a Seventh-Day Adventist minister) who recognised the abuse and brought it to light and for those women and girls who stepped forward with their stories and maintained their complaints despite pressure from others in the community and with lingering trauma from the abuse itself.