one of his victims had been consensual. "She was young, naive and vulnerable," Blackie said. "She was secreted into the bushes and there the accused took advantage of her. There had been no affection, kissing or romantic connection. She did not want it to happen." The controversy over the trial continued. On 26 October 2004, prosecutor Simon Moore told Radio New Zealand that the charges and the verdicts were only the tip of the iceberg, accounting for only one-third of the cases police learned about when they began their investigations. He said that more charges were due to be laid involving people now living in Australia and New Zealand, but he declined to provide further details citing "extensive name suppression orders in place." Moore said that some of these victims had indicated an interest in returning to Pitcairn. But, they would have had to be satisfied that justice had been done and that the island was a safe place for their families. Auckland lawyer Christopher Harder, who represented one of the accused, appealed for mercy in view of the social devastation he said would be caused by the imprisonment of most of the island's able-bodied men. He proposed that the men make a public apology and pay compensation to their victims, instead of facing imprisonment, which, he said, could mean the end of the microstate. Professor John Connell of the University of Sydney said that if the men were imprisoned, they would have to be released temporarily whenever needed to man the longboat, without which the island could not connect with the outside world. "It would be a punishment for the whole community" if they were not, said the South Pacific scholar. Some islanders expressed fears that without the convicted men, there would not be enough who could handle the longboat. Others, less connected with the case, noted that the defendants had prevented other islanders from becoming more skilled at handling the boats. This was another example of the "power and control" problems which existed on the island. Public Defender Paul Dacre called on the court to impose sentences in keeping with the unique circumstances of the island society. "We are talking about 50 people living on a rock, not 50 million in England," he said. Pending sentencing on 27 October, lawyers for the six convicted pleaded for clemency, arguing that it was essential for the survival of the dependency.