‘Incest island’ owned by UK where generations of cousins marry and have children by age 12
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Pictairn Island is a British Overseas Territory where cousins marry and everyone is related – with scores of its men convicted of abuse
Pitcairn islanders Dennis ‘Sambo’ Christian and Steve Christian leave court(Image: Getty Images Contributor)
A tiny British island first established by mutineers has a grim and chequered history plagued with incest and child abuse, with its former mayor found guilty of downloading hardcore child abuse images and films.
The British overseas territory was first discovered HMS Bounty. The crew had arrived in Tahiti in 1788 to gather a cargo of breadfruit saplings. The sailors staged a famous uprising against Captain Bligh, Fletcher Christian and his men returned to Tahiti to collect a hoard of women before searching the South Pacific for a safe haven, finally settling on Pitcairn Island.
Whether the women went willingly is unclear; according to one account, the ship set sail as they slept off an evening of feasting on deck. The Englishmen saw the function of the women and the girls as serving their needs.
Today, the Pitcairn Islands represent Britain’s sole territory in the Pacific Ocean, comprising four islands with only Pitcairn home to human inhabitants. The current residents are largely descendants of those involved in the mutiny aboard HMS Bounty.
A decade after settling on Pitcairn, despite only nine British men remaining alongside 11 Tahitian women, the population started to expand.
The island is visited by a vessel four times a year(Image: LightRocket via Getty Images)
Between them they produced 24 children, who went on to have 77 offspring. Marriages between first and second cousins were widespread, and by 1856, the population had climbed to 193.
The more adventurous residents gradually relocated to Commonwealth nations Australia and New Zealand, leaving behind only a dedicated handful. By 2023, just 35 people lived permanently on Pitcairn – yet their inclination towards incestuous or unconventional relationships appears to have persisted.
In 2004, the Pitcairn Islands attracted widespread attention when seven men – representing a third of the male population – were detained for sexual offences. Six of the men were convicted, including the mayor, Steve Christian. It was alleged in the trial that Christian repeatedly raped or assaulted several women on the island.
It is plagued by a history of incest and abuse(Image: LightRocket via Getty Images)
He denied all charges but did admit to having what he said was consensual sex with several of his children. He was convicted of committing five rapes between 1964 and 1975 and was sentenced to three years. He was acquitted of a sixth rape charge and four indecent assault charges.
The next year, a further six men who had left the island faced trial.
The men claimed they were just upholding the ‘traditions’ of the island, where most girls typically had their first child while still children themselves – on average, between 12 to 15 years old. Pitcairn’s age of consent stands at just 12, with concerned visitor Tosen informed “it doesn’t hurt them” when he attempted to challenge the abuse, according to the Independent.
Michael Warren, the former mayor of Pitcairn(Image: Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
In 2016, a former island mayor, Michael Warren, was found guilty of downloading hardcore child abuse images and films involving children as young as six, a decade after the high-profile trials for child sexual assault and rape charges. He was also convicted of engaging in a ‘sex chat’ with someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl. Warren was given a 20-month jail sentence.
“It’s like a small town in England,” said Sheils Carnehan, a New Zealander who taught there for two years. She told the Guardian: “The only difference is you can’t get away.”
Another said: “As long as you’ve got a child pornographer there, it’s going to be bloody hard to attract young couples or parents of young children.”
Life on the island remains profoundly isolated from the wider world. Locals seldom have mobile phone coverage, and the sole means of leaving is via the supply vessel – which arrives only four times a year.
The island is tiny, and children leave school at 13(Image: LightRocket via Getty Images)
According to Pitcairn’s official government website, the majority of islanders are Seventh Day Adventists following a religious mission established in 1890, and they continue to observe the Sabbath. It also states that weddings can take place on the island, and that same-sex marriage is allowed.
Children receive education until they reach 13, at which point some leave for boarding school in New Zealand. The island also boasts a post office and general store, along with one ‘television station’ and reliable internet connectivity for home streaming.
Pitcairn additionally has a medical clinic staffed by a doctor and nurse, operating three mornings weekly – though any serious medical emergencies require boat transportation to a mainland facility.
Property is provided at no cost and residents are permitted to construct their own dwellings if they choose. No welfare payments are available on the island so inhabitants must be entirely self-reliant, with many newcomers initially residing with a host family.
While the prospect of obtaining complimentary land on a tropical island may appear appealing, reportedly just one individual has pledged to relocate permanently.
