said, Pitcairn had been "a zone of criminal immunity", an enclave where serious crimes could be committed with impunity. The proceedings were relayed live to the Adamstown courthouse, on Pitcairn, by a video linkup. About twenty locals, including the accused, watched the hearing. Crown prosecutors produced numerous old documents to refute the defence that British law had never been enforced on Pitcairn, or that the Pitcairners had never known that they were subject to it. According to the documents, the islanders had, over a period of many years, sought British advice and intervention in cases related to adultery, abortion, kleptomania, attempted murder (including a 1936 case in which a husband and wife tried to kill each other), and the theft of women's underwear. Crown Prosecutor Simon Mount said the charges had been referred to British authorities because they were too serious to be dealt with locally, and proved that Pitcairners were fully aware of British law and of its applicability to them. Betty Christian, the Island Secretary, broke ranks with many of her fellow Pitcairners, testifying at the Pitcairn Supreme Court hearing in Papakura that the islanders were aware that they were British subjects and that British law was applicable to them. She also flatly contradicted the defence that sexual activity at a young age was considered "normal" on Pitcairn, saying that Pitcairn's values were no different from those of any other modern society. On 24 May 2005, the Auckland court rejected the appeal of the six convicted men. It carried over their bail until their further appeal could be heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, in 2006. Former Pitcairn resident Shawn Christian, 29, then living in Australia, announced a legal challenge to the validity of New Zealand lawyers' and judges' participation in a trial in a British colony on 27 November 2005. "They are saying it should have been English judges and English lawyers doing the trial," said New Zealand lawyer Fletcher Pilditch. Christian appeared to have the support of others awaiting trial. Shawn Christian, whose alleged offences (three rapes) are said to have happened between 1994 and 1996, is the younger son of former Mayor Steve Christian. An additional appeal brought by the Public Defender was heard by the Court of Appeal on 31 January 2006. The basis of the appeal was the validity of the laws applied to the accused, with the defence arguing