Up the Hill of Difficulty

Summary

---

The Pitcairn Trials: “Up the Hill of Difficulty”

Podcast: The Pitcairn Trials
Host: Always True Crime (Narrator: Luke Jones)
Episode: 2 – Up the Hill of Difficulty
Date: January 8, 2025

---

Overview

This episode delves into the troubled justice system and emerging sexual abuse allegations on Pitcairn Island, a remote British territory in the South Pacific. Picking up from a prior investigation, it tracks the British authorities’ attempts to install qualified policing, the challenges of legislating and enforcing law in a tiny, insular community, and the devastating surfacing of systemic child sexual abuse. The episode explores how investigators, officials, and therapists grappled with the scale, secrecy, and trauma exposed by the scandal.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pitcairn’s Legal & Social Vacuum

• Initial Police Involvement (02:59–04:56): In 1996, Detectives Peter George and Dennis McGookin traveled to Pitcairn following a rape allegation, only to find undersized legal frameworks and no effective policing structure.
  • “What if this close knit and isolated community had to deal with other crimes?... Could there be out there in the South Pacific, darker currents needing deeper investigation?” (03:39, Luke Jones)
• Local Resistance & Insularity: The Pitcairn community viewed outsiders, especially foreign officials, with suspicion, fostering a sense of self-protective denial.
  • “The Pitcairn islanders see themselves as a community and that the rest of the world is inclined to be difficult because the outside world doesn't understand them and doesn't understand their ways.” (04:31, Peter George)

---

2. Installing Policing and Legal Reform

• Recommendations for Policing (05:17–07:24): British officials acknowledged that Pitcairn needed a permanent, independent police presence and overhauled laws.
  • “Pitcairn needs a village Bobby... a former UK police officer or ex naval officer would make a significant contribution.” (07:02, Narrator/Host quoting British High Commission)
• Appointment of Gale Cox (07:35–08:08): In 1997, Kent constable Gale Cox was assigned as Pitcairn’s police officer, despite concerns she might face gender bias. She quickly became accepted and had a positive impact.
  • “We thought she might get a bit of a hard time, but she didn’t. She thoroughly enjoyed it and everything was fine.” (08:08, Peter George)

---

3. Navigating Custom, Law, and Sexual Offences

• Council Discussions on Law (08:38–10:49): Council meetings revealed confusion over age of consent (then 12), enforcement of British law, and definition—or absence—of domestic violence statutes.
  • Notable Minute:
    • “Age of consent. We’ll look into changing from 12 to 16 years.” (09:15, Council Secretary)
    • Decision: “British law superseded Pitcairn law and the age of consent is and was 16...” (10:14, Luke Jones)
• Legal Chaos & Documentation: Patchwork laws—mixing local codes, ordinances from the NZ governor, UK statute, and English common law—created ambiguity and loopholes.
  • “A messy legal system that was part Pitcairn law, part ordinances... part English legislation, part English common law.” (10:49, Luke Jones)

---

4. First Prosecutions and Community Interference

• Case of Ricky Quinn (19:04–27:48): The 1999 case of visiting outsider Ricky Quinn, accused of sexually assaulting Pitcairn girls, was swiftly prosecuted, with Gale Cox leading the process.
  • “Ricky Jack Quinn pleaded guilty to a charge of carnal knowledge... convicted and sentenced to 100 days imprisonment.” (26:12, Narrator/Host)
  • “It has been made clear that this behaviour cannot be condoned. At the same time, convicting an outsider who is now to be deported means that the community will be able to recover without having the offender remain as part of the community.” (28:04, Council Secretary)
• Dubious Community Actions: Community leaders bent rules to soften the outsider’s experience pending trial, suggesting different standards would apply if the accused were a local.
  • “There is little doubt that had the case been brought against a resident Pitcairner, efforts to undermine proceedings would have been more persistent and more likely to have caused the case to collapse.” (28:32, Sponsor/Advertiser, quoting official correspondence)
  • Memorable moment: Magistrate Jay Warren taking the accused fishing before trial; police officer Mirelda Warren keeping him at her house (28:50–29:59).

---

5. Unveiling Systemic Abuse

• Breakthrough Testimony (32:27–33:29): When detectives interviewed a former female islander in Auckland, the true scale of abuse emerged.
  • "There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10, that was still a virgin. It just happens to all of them, every single day... It was so regular, it just got a regular occurrence and everyone on the island knew about it."(32:36–33:15, Detective Peter George quoting witness)
  • Investigators are staggered; the case ceases to be about a single incident and becomes about a pervasive, generational practice.
• Official Realization: Authorities fretted over logistical and legal impossibility of fair trials on-island due to universal family connections and incomplete legal reforms.
  • “You couldn't possibly hold trials on Pitcairn, not at that time, because there was no legal system there... One of the magistrates was a suspect, so everyone was a suspect every mile, really.” (37:39, Peter George)

---

6. Psychological Impact on Victims

• Therapist Sandy’s Perspective (34:23–36:24): Insights on the impact of sexual abuse on children—dissociation, long-term shame, and trauma.
  • “Children talk about maybe being on the ceiling, looking down on what is happening. So that's like the beginning of dissociation, their experiences that they can't bear, and so they distance themselves... Psychological hiding, so that's not unusual at all.” (35:01, Sandy)
  • The scars persist into adulthood and reverberate across the family and community (36:24–36:56).

---

7. Closing & Next Steps

• Ongoing Investigation: The British Foreign Office, police, and legal experts prepare to tackle what is now revealed as deep-rooted criminality on Pitcairn, knowing prosecution will be fraught if not impossible under current circumstances.
  • “Yeah, absolutely. I don't think there was a family that wasn't involved in it in some way. What was happening was that the daughter of one particular male on the island was a victim, but he was offending against somebody else.” (37:07, Peter George)
• Cliffhanger for Next Episode: The challenge of seeking justice in a closed community where “everyone was a suspect, every mile, really” signals the daunting road ahead.

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “When people on a island in the middle of nowhere, they can do what they like and who's going to know?”
  — Detective Peter George (04:56)
• “We thought she might get a bit of a hard time, but she didn’t. She thoroughly enjoyed it and everything was fine.”
  — Detective Peter George on WPC Gale Cox (08:08)
• “Age of consent. We'll look into changing from 12 to 16 years.”
  — Council Secretary (09:15)
• “There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10, that was still a virgin. It just happens to all of them, every single day.”
  — Former Pitcairner witness (32:36, relayed by Detective Peter George)
• “You couldn't possibly hold trials on Pitcairn, not at that time, because there was no legal system there. It was there in theory, but of course it wouldn't ever work. One of the magistrates was a suspect, so everyone was a suspect every mile, really.”
  — Detective Peter George (37:39)

---

Notable Timeline

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:59–05:05 | UK detectives’ first investigation, case closed but concerns linger | | 05:17–07:24 | British Foreign Office admits legal gaps, recommends onsite police | | 08:08–11:45 | Gale Cox’s deployment, council minutes, reform attempts | | 14:42–19:38 | New abuse allegations, party incident leads to visitor’s prosecution | | 19:38–27:17 | Court trial and deportation of visitor Ricky Quinn | | 28:32–29:59 | Community interference, allegations of favoritism and impropriety | | 32:27–33:29 | Revelation of systemic sexual abuse from former islander | | 34:23–36:56 | Therapist explores trauma’s lifelong effects on victims | | 37:39–end | Legal impossibility, universal community entanglement, series cliffhanger |

---

Tone and Style

The episode combines methodical investigative narrative with candid, sometimes disturbing, first-hand testimony. The tone is probing and empathetic, while not shying away from the shocking reality of the crimes and institutional failures involved.

---

For Listeners

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in complex, real-world investigations that collide with culture, law, and human psychology—all in the unique pressure cooker of a remote island society.

If you or someone you know is affected by the themes in this episode, the podcast show page provides links to organizations that can offer help and support.

Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

We'll get back to your true crime story in just a moment. This podcast is part of the Always True Crime Network, home of thousands of episodes exploring gripping true crime cases. If you're looking for somewhere to start, check out our recent investigative series, Project Mind Control. It uncovers a chilling chapter in history, examining the disturbing experiments carried out on vulnerable people in an attempt to erase and reprogram the human mind. Featuring testimony from one of the last known survivors of a notorious Canadian psychiatric institution, it's a powerful story that's as shocking as it is important. Check out the show and more@always truecrime.com.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

This podcast is brought to you by Thomson Reuters. The best don't just do their work. They change what's possible. Cases won, audits completed, jobs saved. Behind every one of those moments is a professional who needed to get it right and did. Thomson Reuters builds the technology that sharpens insights, speeds up decision making, and powers the outcomes that matter. So when professionals act, the impact is felt by everyone. Be a changemaker visit tr.com changemakers running

a business means juggling a lot of moving parts, and when your communication tools can't keep up, things start to slip. Missed calls, slow replies, scattered conversations. They're not just frustrating, they're lost opportunities and revenue left on the table. That's where Quo comes in. Spelled Q U O, Quo is the number one rated business phone system on G2, trusted by over 90,000 businesses. One shared business number for calls and texts so every conversation stays visible or organized and accountable. It works from an app or computer. You can keep your existing number, add teammates and sync your CRM, letting you scale without adding complexity. And with built in AI Quo logs, calls, summarizes conversations and flags next steps even after hours Stop missing customers. Stop leaving revenue on the table. Try quo free and get 20% off your first six months at quo.com tech. That's qU-U-O.com tech no missed calls, no missed customers.

[Detective Peter George]

If you sold somebody a loaded gun who you knew was in a vulnerable state and they shot themselves, I think it is murder.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Just because you're using the Internet doesn't

[Detective Peter George]

mean you get away with murder. I'm Damon Fairless, host of Hunting Warhead. This season I take you inside the business of suicide and the places desperate people go when they can't find what they need in the real world. Hunting the Suicide Salesman Available now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

A Warning. This series contains discussion of child sexual abuse and suicide and contains strong language. It's 1996 Police detectives Peter George and Dennis McGookin had traveled over 9,000 miles from Kent in England to the remote Pacific island of Pitcairn to investigate a serious allegation. The 18 year old accused, Sean Christian, was cautioned for underage sex instead of being charged with the original allegation of rape. The young girl and her family were back home, overseas, far from Pitcairn. Sean stayed on the island and continued his life. And for Peter and George, now safely back in Kent, this was as far as they were concerned, case closed. They had lingering concerns, though. What if this close knit and isolated community had to deal with other crimes? Multiple serious crimes, for example, or crimes between islanders, ones not involving an outsider who could raise the alarm from abroad? Could there be out there in the South Pacific, darker currents, needing deeper investigation?

[Therapist Sandy]

I knew that they were trying to twist things.

[Detective Peter George]

The Pitcairn islanders see themselves as a community and that the rest of the world is inclined to be difficult because the outside world doesn't understand them and doesn't understand their ways. That's a sort of deep feeling.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Peter and Dennis, the only qualified police to have stepped on the island for years, might now be thousands of miles away again. But they agreed something needed to change.

[Detective Peter George]

When people on a island in the middle of nowhere, they can do what they like and who's going to know?

[Narrator Luke Jones]

This is the pitcairn trials. Episode 2 Up the Hill of Difficulty and into a Can of Worms.

[Detective Peter George]

We recommended when we got back that there would need to be some form of policing on the island, because there's none whatsoever at that time. And really who's independent, because that's the difficulty, because they're all sort of interrelated in a way, and being so small a community.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Back in the office in Kent, Peter reported all of this to the British Foreign Office in London. They sent a report onto the British High Commission in New Zealand and the Deputy High Commissioner there, a man called C.D. shute, replied.

[Narrator/Host]

The law and order situation at Pitcairn is obviously not ideal.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Something of an understatement.

[Narrator/Host]

The record of your meeting with Dennis McGukin and Peter George was extremely useful and raised some interesting points. As you will recall, we suggested earlier this year that we should put in place contingency plans to deal with a serious breach of law on Pitcairn. The recent cases have highlighted the need for this and the evident flaws in the current laws.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

So the authorities at the time knew that the status quo wasn't up to scratch. This recent business that Peter and Dennis had been to Investigate just emphasised the point.

[Narrator/Host]

Mr. McGukin also drew attention to the inadequacies of the present magistrate. While he may not be the ideal person for the job, the pool of volunteers for the elected position is not exactly overflowing with strong candidates. The magistrate is not an appointee. He is elected to the position by the islanders.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

The British High Commissioner in New Zealand, who by virtue of having that job is also the Pitcairn governor, was attracted. His deputy wrote to Peter and Dennis suggestion of having a proper police officer on the island.

[Narrator/Host]

Pitcairn needs a village Bobby. It is clear that Messrs McGukin and George quickly established authority on the island and from their comments it is evident that a former UK police officer or ex naval officer would make a significant contribution to the law and order situation on Pitcairn. I would be grateful to know how this suggestion is being taken forward and

[Narrator Luke Jones]

it was taken forward. Flight LS16 197 to 4 Queenland now boarding at gate 70D.

[Detective Peter George]

Another officer from Kent went out in 97 for three month stint.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Notice of appointment of Gale Cox as police officer for Pitcairn Island. 6th of October 1997. In exercise of the powers conferred by section 2 of the Justice Ordinance, I hereby appoint Gail Cox, woman Police Constable of the Kent Constabulary, as a police officer for the Pitcairn Islands with effect from the date hereof.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Pitcairn finally had a qualified police officer.

[Detective Peter George]

I was a little concerned at the time about the appointment because they sent a lady out and Pitcairn's attitude to women isn't that good. We were told when we were on there the first time by several women that, you know, they're not treated very well at all. We thought she might get a bit of a hard time, but she didn't. She thoroughly enjoyed it and everything was fine.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

And at first it appeared very productive too. We seen Pitcairn Council minutes from then

[Council Secretary/Recorder]

Special council meeting held 10-27-1997 at 7pm all members present. John opened with prayer. WPC Gail Cox present and discussed some of the issues requiring attention. 1. Road Code and specified exam for the quad vehicles.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

They also discussed guns and the definition of domestic violence.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

2.

[Council Secretary/Recorder]

Introduction of arms code, licence book and safety code. 3. Domestic violence extend to include general violence,

[Narrator Luke Jones]

verbal abuse and point four on the agenda.

[Council Secretary/Recorder]

Age of consent. We'll look into changing from 12 to 16 years

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Age of consent. This was a confusing area for the islanders, hotly debated.

[Council Secretary/Recorder]

Gail will look at prison laws to see if any needs to be Revised, she will seek other people's feelings on the issues discussed above. No further business. Meeting finished at 8.30pm

[Narrator Luke Jones]

it seems there really was a bit of indecision on that final point. The point of age of consent. A month later, at another council meeting,

[Council Secretary/Recorder]

Special council meeting held 12-7-1997 at 12:30pm all members present. John opened with prayer. WPC Gayle Cox in chair. Age of consent 16, unlawful sexual intercourse USI British law supersede.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

So British law superseded Pitcairn law and the age of consent is and was 16. They noted the prison sentences as well.

[Council Secretary/Recorder]

Under age 13, no time limit in reporting offence penalty life 15 years. Under 16 two years.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

But the strictest punishments were reserved for

[Council Secretary/Recorder]

indecency between males under 21, five years buggery offence between males under 18, penalty life.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

So raping a 16 year old equals two years behind bars. But two men having consensual sex under the age of 21 means life in prison. These documents are a fascinating insight into how one police officer, Gale Cox, tried to wade through all of this uncertainty that had clearly existed for years. A messy legal system that was part Pitcairn law, part ordinances made by the Governor residing in New Zealand, part English legislation, part part English common law. It's thanks to a legal case in a British court years later that all of these council minutes and letters and faxes were published as part of document disclosure. We access them through the University of Hawaii archive. As 1997 drew to a close, so did Police Constable Gale Cox's stint on Pitcairn.

[Official Correspondent]

From the British High Commission, Wellington, New Zealand to John Mitchell, Public Policy and Project Section, hprd Foreign Commonwealth Office, WPC Kael Cox, a member of the Kent Constabulary, visited Pitcairn from 10th of October to 24th December 1997 on a temporary attachment to instruct the local police officer about responsible policing, WPC Cox devised a training program for the local police officer. This also served as a training aid and educational tool for other islanders who took part in various role play situations. The training program covered issues such as domestic violence, sexual offences, firearms controls, traffic regulations, noise pollution, jail facilities and their operations. As a result of the program, a new Firearms code was devised to encourage safe storage and use of firearms. A revised driver's licence test adopted and the outline of a policy on how to deal with domestic violence without laying a formal complaint was introduced. Yours, Eva Carol Hinchley.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

The British High Commission were chuffed to bits. Gail had built a training program for the nominal island police officer. They enthused a woman called Mirelda Warren. And just as Peter and Dennis had done the year before, Gale had set up role play situations for Moralda and for the island magistrate, Moralda's brother, Jay Warren. Gale even invited Jay, as the island's magistrate, to visit Kent in England. She took him to a criminal court in the town of Maidstone. Jay saw drunks, thieves and misbehaving motorists punished. A British magistrate said to Jay, I looked up Pitcairn in the atlas. I have to say it's a very tiny dot. We have no crime though, Jay replied. The jailhouse was used for storage and the high courthouse had been renamed the public hall because neither, he said, had been used in his lifetime and he was approaching his mid-40s. Gardens, as a sidebar point, were the real eye opener for Jay on this trip to the uk, though. He went to a party in one at Buckingham palace and did a short horticulture course at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Forward wind to 1999. It's just two years after her last visit to the South Pacific and Gail Cox is back on Pitcairn for another three month stint. She's been there only a matter of weeks, though, when a startling revelation is made. Not to Gail, though, but to the governor of Pitcairn, Martin Williams, who again has the job as part of being the British High Commissioner in New Zealand. Martin was contacted by a government official.

[Detective Peter George]

She in fact asked to have a word with me about the fact that her daughter, who'd been living on the island, had told her about some of her friends on the island having quite serious sexual activities of a kind which would certainly not have been tolerated elsewhere.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

The Girls are now 13, recounting abuse from when they were 11.

[Detective Peter George]

And when we talked about that and I thought about it, it seemed to me that this was an indication that the previous case, which had taken place a few years earlier before I arrived, wasn't just an isolated case, but that there was clearly something which was more extensive.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Martin's deputy governor, Karen Wolstenholm, sent this

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Pitcairn Allegations of Serious Crime I'm writing to let you know of a potential investigation into an alleged serious crime on Pitcairn, to which we may need to respond rapidly and appropriately. In due course. The daughter of the government advisor has reported incidents involving two of her friends on the island, currently aged 13. Ultimately, it is possible that charges of rape may need to be investigated from a time when the two girls were aged 11 at most. This is not the first time similar allegations of a serious crime have been made on the island. But as he will realize, this in is very sensitive. The small community will not welcome an investigation if we establish that one is warranted. Any court case and possible lengthy custodial sentence on conviction, as well as the publicity that would undoubtedly surround it, could be devastating. So we must proceed with care and tact.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

This will need very careful management. Someone in the Foreign Office scribbled in the margins of the printed facts. Too early to tell the news department of potentially bad publicity, they circled with a question mark Karen's facts continued.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

At present, this is simply speculation. The first step is to decide whether there is a case to answer. WPC Gail Cox, who is, as you know, still on Pitcairn, has asked the Commissioner to speak to Kent Police for advice on how she should proceed. In the meantime, she is trying to win the confidence of the two girls involved.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

The Pitcairn Island Commissioner employed by the British government again in New Zealand, was a man called Leon Salt. He wrote to Gail Cox, who was on Pitcairn. Develop a close rapport with the girls who made the accusations, he advised, and see what they drop into conversation. But don't be too quick about it, he said. One reason we cannot hurry this matter is is that the revised laws and legal system is not yet in place. It is important, therefore, that everything remains confidential and that no charges are laid until then. It would be very disappointing, he said, to embark on an attempt at prosecution and fail because of inadequate legislation. To do this would reinforce the belief that Pitcairn really is beyond the law. He signed off. We are in for a busy time, by the look of it. These new laws, new ordinances, were not yet in force, but events got ahead of them.

[Detective Peter George]

Whilst G was on the island, there'd been a party on last Friday night. They used to get together at Sean Christian's dad's house. This is Steve Christian, the house, biggest house at the time called Big Fence. And they used to get there with booze. It's illegal on Pitcairn, actually, but they used to do it.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Alcohol wasn't legal on Pitcairn until 2009, but whether it was bought from passing container ships or brewed at home, alcohol was certainly drunk on the island. Another strict rule not followed. It seems Pitcairn has chose which laws they were going to abide by and which to ignore at this particular party. 2. Two days after the Foreign Office, unbeknownst to all of them, had been faxing about new allegations of Rape. An argument broke out.

[Detective Peter George]

They used to have these parties, and there's one got, I think, a bit out of hand. And a girl alleged she'd been indecently assaulted.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Ricky Quinn, a visitor to the island who'd been there for a few months visiting his step grandmother who lived there, was drunk. The mother of one of the girls found out about the incident and called for police officer Gail. Ricky was accused of raping and sexually assaulting the girls. He was put under house arrest at the government advisor's residence in the presence of Gail, the actual police officer from Kent, and Merida Warren, the island police officer making good use of her recent training.

[Detective Peter George]

Another girl, who was a friend of this other girl, said to Gail Cox, I was raped. And the offenders were the two sons of Steve Christian. It was. It was rape of a girl who was about 11 at the time. And it hadn't happened that night. It happened sometime previous, but it had been reported that night, I think, because of the incident that happened with the other girl. So they tell Gail Cox, and she reports back. She's told to get a statement from the victim.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

This was where years of secrecy began to crumble, starting with this young generation. Ricky Quinn, an outsider to Pitcairn, referred to by the islanders and remarkably in official documents as the visitor, was to be tried and prosecuted by the island magistrate. But the other case, the young girl on the island who accused Steve Christian's sons, Randy and Sean, of raping her, is, the Foreign Office say, amongst themselves, in a fact more difficult. Peter and Dennis had investigated and cautioned Sean Christian on their first trip to Pitcairn. An islander accused of rape by an outsider. Now we've got an Islander accusing an outsider of sexual assault. The island's legal system was dealing with that. But this third case was what previous official faxes and letters and conversations had worried about for months. An islander accusing other islanders. Pitcairn child accusing Pitcairn adults Sean and Randy Christian of rape. This was certainly more difficult.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Running a business means juggling a lot of moving parts. And when your communication tools can't keep up, things start to slip. Missed calls, slow replies, scattered conversations. They're not just frustrating, they're lost opportunities and revenue left on the table. That's where quo comes in. Spelled q, U, O, Quo is the number one rated business phone system on G2, trusted by over 90,000 businesses. One shared business number for calls and texts. So every conversation stays visible, organized and accountable. It works from an app or computer. You can keep your existing number, add teammates and sync your CRM, letting you scale without adding complexity. And with built in AI, Quo logs calls, summarizes conversations and flags next steps. Even after hours Stop missing customers. Stop leaving revenue on the table. Try Quo free and get 20% off your first six [e-mail] tech that's quo.com

tech

quo no missed calls, no missed customers.

This podcast is brought to you by Thomson Reuters. The best don't just do their work. They change what's possible. Cases won, audits completed, jobs saved. Behind every one of those moments is a professional who needed to get it right and did. Thomson Reuters builds the technology that sharpens insights, speeds up decision making and powers the outcomes that matter. So when professionals act, the impact is felt by everyone. Be a changemaker. Visit tr.com changemakers marketers.

You know that feeling when your creative clicks, when that social post sends engagement through the roof, when your outside of the box campaign hits ROI positive. When a personalized homepage turns prospects into customers, it's utter marketing bliss. Contentful helps you create tailored omnichannel experiences without working overtime. No stress, no limits, only possibilities. Get the [e-mail] close your eyes.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Summer smells like sunshine, fresh citrus and salty air. What if your living room could feel just like that? With Pura's new summer collection, it can restore your sense of well being with

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

fragrances designed to move with your day.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

From bright, energizing mornings to soft, relaxing evenings make the invisible unforgettable this season. Visit pura.com to find your new favorite favorite summer scent. The governor of Pitcairn, the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, Martin Williams, faxed London the case could not realistically be tried at all at the moment, he worried, since everyone on the island will be personally related to either the suspected offenders, Sean and Randy Christian, all the victims, or likely both. He was also extremely worried. New laws were not yet in place. They needed to rapidly sort that out, he said, to avoid what he called possible sensational and critical publicity. First, though, it needed investigating.

[Detective Peter George]

Got a call from Dennis McGookin. He was based at headquarters. I was by then a detective inspector and I was at Dartford police station. And he said, you won't believe this, but there's another rape allegation on Pitcairn Island. He said, are you willing to go back out? So I said, definitely, yeah, absolutely.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

As Peter packed his waterproofs, PC Gail Cox remained on Pitcairn dealing with what was meant to be the straightforward case, not the allegations against Sha and Randy Christian, the islander on Islander Church child abuse allegations. But the allegations made by two Pitcairn girls against the visitor Ricky Quinn. Gail convened the court she'd been practicing. It was 20th of December 1999 and the first case the Pitcairn court would hear that year. In the school classroom, Gail Cox became prosecuting officer. Morel D Warren was observing as the island's police officer. Jay Warren was magistrate and Betty Christian, incidentally Randy and Sean Christian's cousin was court Clark. Ricky was brought before the Magistrates Court. He was tried, convicted and sentenced.

[Narrator/Host]

21st of December 1999. Mr. M.J. williams, CVO, OBE Governor of Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducy and Eno Islands British High Commission, Wellington, New Zealand by facts WPC Gale Cox has this morning phoned to advise that at a sitting of the island Court at 2pm on Monday 20th December Pitcairn time, Ricky Jack Quinn pleaded guilty to a charge of carnal knowledge under section 88 of the Justice Ordinance. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 100 days imprisonment. He entered a plea of not guilty to a further charge of indecent behaviour under Section 87 of the Justice Ordinance.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Ricky was found guilty on one charge of unlawful carnal knowledge of a child. He was found not guilty of the same charge against a different child. His deportation order came the very next day.

[Narrator/Host]

Passage from Pitcairn to New Zealand has been confirmed for Ricky Quinn aboard Queensland Star departing Pitcairn on 23 December 1999. It is suggested therefore that ye revoke his license to land and reside in accordance with section 4 of the landing and Residence Orders Ordinance and in accordance with Section 6 of this Ordinance order his removal from the island.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

All these documents suggest the case was acted on swiftly and efficiently. A well oiled Pitcairn legal machine working thanks mainly to Gale Cox being there. A good deterrent. Ireland Commissioner Leon Salt wrote to the Pitcairn Governor Martin Williams.

[Council Secretary/Recorder]

It will hopefully be of benefit to the community in prosecuting someone for this offence. It has been made clear that this behaviour cannot be condoned. At the same time, convicting an outsider who is now to be deported means that the community will be able to recover without having the offender remain as part of the community.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

But getting this example of justice, this visitor's head on a spike, not literally wasn't the plainest sailing.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

It is significant that in this case brought against an outsider, the interference by many of the community, particularly the Warren family, was so strong. There is little doubt that had the case been brought against a resident Pitcairner efforts to undermine proceedings would have been more persistent and more likely to have caused the case to collapse.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Did the Warrens interfere? Police officer Mirlda and her magistrate brother Jay? Well, it seems they didn't do everything exactly by the book. There was a day before his trial when Ricky Quinn was in island officer Mirelda Warren's custody. Rather than keep him in the government advisors quarters, she decided to take him home instead. And Miralda's brother Jay, the magistrate, came knocking and decided to take Ricky fishing. Jay also bought Ricky's motorcycle off him, although they insisted this was a deal that was already in progress before the charges were brought. Still, island Commissioner Leon Salt fumed in a letter that it smacked of corruption and bribery, as did Jay telephoning Ricky's dad in New Zealand to say they would look after him. Leon wrote a reminder. This is the island magistrate, the island's police officer and a person awaiting trial for raping a child. Mirelda, for her part, was furious when this was put to her. She wrote to Leon, if I am

[Official Correspondent]

not trusted as Pitcairn's police officer, please let me know as soon as you receive my letter. You and the governor are free to fire me. The emotions I felt when Gail Cox informed me that I can be done for perjury, 10 years imprisonment. I felt like telling you all to take this low paying, unthankful job and stick.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Was into this fraught island community and contested legal system that Peter George began investigating. The other ongoing sexual assault case.

[Detective Peter George]

We first of all went to Auckland again, then went from Auckland to Norfolk island to interview the two suspects.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Randy and Sean Christian, the accused in this third case, were on another island at the time, one just north of New Zealand.

[Detective Peter George]

Now, Norfolk island is, is much bigger than Pitcairn, but it's policed by the Australian Federal Police and they have a small unit on their sergeant and about four constables to police the island. And we were met by the lady, obviously knew we were coming and we were met by the sergeant. We told him who we wanted to interview, Randy Christian and Sean Christian. And his face went white when we mentioned Randy Christian because he said he's playing tennis with my wife at the moment.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

The accused was soon found and Detective Peter George and his new police partner in the investigation, Rob Vinson, interviewed them.

[Detective Peter George]

They were both very personal, very friendly, but total denied the allegations, absolutely no way.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Which is different from your first experience of investigating these kind of Pitcairn crimes where Sean said, oh yeah, she's my

[Detective Peter George]

girlfriend, yeah, yeah, that's right. No, didn't want to know. Absolutely not. This is untrue. So we've just had one person saying it happened, one person saying it didn't. Difficult to prove. So we went back to New Zealand and we were looking for some sort of corroboration.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Obviously they needed something else, though. Where would they find this? The island Commissioner for Pitcairn, Leon Salt, had some advice.

[Detective Peter George]

We were told by Leon that there was another islander in Auckland that had not long come off the island.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

This woman knew the young girl who had made the allegations against Shawn and Randy.

[Detective Peter George]

We went to see her one night, just unannounced, turned up and what she told us opened up a whole can of worms.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

What did she say?

[Detective Peter George]

She said, I'm sure what I told you is true. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10, that was still a virgin. It just happens to all of them, every single day. Girl on the island. I took a long statement from her the very next day. Took most of the day to take pages and pages.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

And was she saying that it happened to her as well then, by virtue of it?

[Detective Peter George]

Yeah, it had happened to her. She'd had a long term relationship with her offender, you know, because it was so regular, it just got a regular occurrence and everyone on the island knew about it.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

And what did you think listening to that when she then says, it's happening to everybody?

[Detective Peter George]

We were staggered. We just couldn't believe it.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

As the millennium came and went, concerned letters bounced between British officials in London and New Zealand. Is the legally watertight basis for charges ready? Can the accused be held securely on Pitcairn? Would any kind of court case just collapse under family loyalties or feuds from

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

the Foreign and Commonwealth Office?

[Council Secretary/Recorder]

This can't continue to.

[Official Correspondent]

John Mitchell, Public Policy and Project regarding pit.

[Narrator/Host]

Kurt, contact the minister. Urgent.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

It was a totally unique crisis for those trying to manage it or investigate it. But look at all of this from another perspective. Perspective. And you soon realize that this kind of awful crime is one that professionals have seen far too many times before. For all the diplomatic novelty and geographical difficulty, this is unfortunately a common tale.

[Therapist Sandy]

Oh, my work has always been with children and families. I was initially a nursery nurse and then I did a psychology degree and then trained as a social worker. Really? Because at that time, social workers were carrying out family therapy and obviously as a social worker, I was doing investigations and child abuse came up a lot.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

This is Sandy as a therapist. She's worked with many, many survivors. And knows how abuse can be hidden or buried. How do children deal with that kind of thing?

[Therapist Sandy]

Children talk about maybe being on the ceiling, looking down on what is happening. So that's like the beginning of dissociation, their experiences that they can't bear, and so they distance themselves from it. So looking at it like a. A different person watching what was going on, this is not what every child does, but it's a way of protecting themselves psychologically. And it's really a very effective survival method because as a child, you can't fight, you can't run. And so it's almost like when you see dogs fighting, they play dead. So they go still. And also, I think there's a feeling that if they don't react, that maybe they'll be left alone. It's psychological hiding, so that's not unusual at all. They can go for a long time not consciously acknowledging that's what happens, but they can be triggered into remembering it at any time, and it can be difficult when that happens.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

The scars can stretch through a person's life, Sandy tells me. It can affect their relationships as an adult, how they experience intimacy, how they see their own children, their own body. There can be physical damage that can haunt them, but also the feelings of anger, anxiety, shame. Something Peter would soon see for himself. In early 2000, Peter had returned home to Kent to debrief and discuss with the British Foreign Office.

[Detective Peter George]

We had a meeting with them, obviously, when we got back, and said we recommended that we needed to obviously investigate this and they agreed that we should.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

It really was just happening everywhere.

[Detective Peter George]

Yeah, absolutely. I don't think there was partly a family that wasn't involved in it in some way. What was happening was that the daughter of one particular male on the island was a victim, but he was offending against somebody else.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

If these cases were difficult to investigate, would they be impossible to prosecute? Next time on the Pitcairn Trials, have you ever wanted to disappear?

[Detective Peter George]

You couldn't possibly hold trials on Pitcairn, not at that time, because there was no legal system there. It was there in theory, but of course it wouldn't ever work. One of the magistrates was a suspect, so everyone was a suspect every mile, really.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

The Pitcairn trials were an audio always production. The series was presented by me, Luke Jones, produced by Lucy Ditchmont. Our assistant producer was Mansi Vithlani, sound design by Craig Edmondson, and the executive producer is Joe Meek. If you've been affected by anything in this story and would like to speak to somebody, there is a list and links to organizations that can offer help and advice on our show page.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

This podcast is brought to you by Thomson Reuters. The best don't just do their work, they change what's possible. Cases won, Audits completed, Jobs saved. Behind every one of those moments is a professional who needed to get it right and did. Thomson Reuters builds the technology that sharpens insights, speeds up decision making and and powers the outcomes that matter. So when professionals act, the impact is felt by everyone. Be a change maker visit tr.com changemakers marketers.

You know that feeling when your creative clicks, when that social post sends engagement through the roof, when your outside of the box campaign hits ROI positive. When a personalized homepage turns prospects into customers. It's utter marketing bliss. Contentful helps you create tailored omnichannel experiences without working overtime. No stress, no limits, only possibilities. Get the [e-mail]

[Detective Peter George]

if you sold somebody a loaded gun who you knew was in a vulnerable state and they shot themselves, I think it is murder.

[Narrator Luke Jones]

Just because you're using the Internet doesn't

[Detective Peter George]

mean you get away with murder. I'm Damon Fairless, host of Hunting Warhead. This season I take you inside the business of suicide and the places desperate people go when they can't find what they need in the real world. Hunting the Suicide Salesman Available now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator/Host]

Want more True Crime? This podcast and loads more are part of the Always True Crime Network. It's packed with box sets to binge and twisted tales you won't find anywhere else. Find your next podcast obsession@always truecrime.com.