her continuously over the following decade. He admitted to having sex with an under-age girl of 11 or 12. Defence lawyer Allan Roberts claimed that Christian's relationship with the child had been consensual. The girl, who was 20 at the time of the trial, was the one who sparked off the police inquiry four years previously when she told her mother of the abuse she had suffered. Her mother in turn told Gail Cox, the visiting British police officer. That was the first the outside world knew of the prevalence of sexual abuse on Pitcairn. Roberts, however, produced love letters written by the girl before Christian left Pitcairn for Norfolk Island, to support his claim that she had been infatuated with Christian. According to Roberts, this infatuation continued after Christian left the island. He said that in her statement to police, she confessed to "having a crush on Randy even though he is no longer on the island." He called her "a cold and cruel and vengeful liar who would stop at nothing to draw attention back to herself ... a woman scorned," whose complaint to the police was nothing other than revenge for his having abandoned her. Public prosecutor Simon Moore rejected this defence, charging that Christian had exploited their ten-year age gap and his superior physical strength for his own advantage. While admitting that for a girl to have a crush on an older man was nothing out of the ordinary, and that there were few unattached young men available, Moore maintained that Christian had taken advantage of the girl's naivety, ignorance, and innocence. "He flattered her, he played her and he lured her into situations where he could do as he wished," Moore said. He added that, after reading a leaflet about sexual harassment distributed by Constable Cox, the girl had realized that Christian's treatment of her was unacceptable. The court was told that during the period in question, Christian had two girlfriends of legal age. One was a pest control officer who came to Pitcairn to rid the island of rats. Verdict and aftermath On 24 October 2004, the Pitcairn Supreme Court convicted six of the seven accused on 35 of the 55 charges. Only Jay Warren, the former Magistrate (1990–1999) was acquitted on all counts. See the "defendants" section below for details. Chief Justice Charles Blackie ridiculed Mayor Steve Christian's claim that his relationship with