Page "Pitcairn sexual assault trial of 2004" Paragraph 61

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 both tried to kill each other ), and even 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.