The defendants were laughing and joking as they entered the court to hear their fate, one of them waving toilet paper in the air as he entered the makeshift courthouse.

But there was nothing funny about the guilty verdicts and the rapists and child molesters of Pitcairn Island had nothing to say on the way out.

Six of them had been found guilty of committing child sex crimes over the past 40 years, including incest, rape and the indecent assault of girls as young as 7.

The lush Pacific island where their ancestors, Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers, had sought refuge with their Tahitian girls 214 years ago, had been shown to the world as a repository of dark and evil secrets.

Half the island’s adult male population now faces imprisonment, calling into question the future of this tiny community of 47 people on the world’s most remote inhabited island — Britain’s last colonial possession in the Pacific.

If it comes to that — and there are further legal battles to be fought — arrangements would almost certainly have to be made to release the offenders for such tasks as manning the longboats that brave the rough seas around the island to ferry supplies ashore from passing ships. Bryan Nicholson, from the British High Commission in New Zealand, said: “They may be allowed to man the longboats and (perform other) essential duties.”

Those found guilty include all the island’s powerful men. Steve Christian, the mayor, described by prosecutors as “the leader of the pack”, was found guilty of five rapes of girls as young as 11.

His son, Randy, chairman of the internal works committee, was guilty of four rapes, including one gang rape of a 10-year-old, and five indecent assaults.

The mayor’s brother-in-law, Dave Brown, was found guilty of six indecent assaults on girls as young as 12.

Dave Brown’s father, Len,

78, was found guilty of twice raping a girl aged 15. Terry Young, 46, was found guilty of one rape and six indecent assaults against girls as young as 7. Dennis Christian admitted three sexual assaults before the trial began.

The three New Zealand judges found 32 charges proved and 17 not proven beyond reasonable doubt, but said they believed that all seven former Pitcairn women who gave video-link evidence were honest in their claims of abuse. Another six charges were withdrawn or dismissed because complainants changed their minds and refused to testify.

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