Long History Of Child Abuse Haunts Island 'Paradise

Marks describes Pitcairn as a "male-dominated society, where men were doing exactly what they pleased." In 2000, police investigating an alleged of rape of a 15-year-old girl uncovered a trail of child abuse dating back at least three generations. Scarcely any of Pitcairn's 47 inhabitants were untainted by the allegations, and barely a girl growing up on the island had escaped abuse. Yet most islanders — including the mothers — had looked the other way.

British journalist Kathy Marks' new book, Lost Paradise, is a non-fiction account of the child abuse sex scandal that rocked a remote British Island.

Located in the South Pacific, Pitcairn Island is home to the descendants of Fletcher Christian and the crew of the Bounty, which fled there in 1789 after seizing their ship from Captain William Bligh (a story made famous in the movie Mutiny On The Bounty).

Marks describes the trials of the abusers as "one of the most unusual trials in British criminal history." The outside lawyers and judges wore long black gowns — a striking contrast to the defendants, who arrived at court in shorts and T-shirts.

In the end, 10 men went through the court system and nine were found guilty or pleaded guilty. But Marks describes the sentenced as "rather ludicrously short"; though several men were sentences to prison terms, and all but one of the defendants have been released from jail.

In December 1999, several Pitcairn girls claimed that they had been sexually assaulted by a visiting New Zealander. By chance, a British policewoman was on the island, and one of the girls confided that she had also been raped by two local men in the past. An investigation into those allegations developed into a major inquiry that saw British detectives crisscross the globe, interviewing dozens of Pitcairn women. Their conclusion was that nearly every girl growing up on the island in the last forty years had been abused, and nearly every man had been an offender.

At the same time, certain Pitcairners — including women on the island — were loudly denying that children had ever been mistreated. They claimed that Pitcairn was a laid-back Polynesian society where girls matured early and were willing sexual partners. Britain, they claimed, was trying to cripple the community and force it to close, thus ridding itself of a costly burden. Who was telling the truth, I wondered: the women describing their experiences of abuse, or those portraying the affair as a British conspiracy?\

The plan was to conduct two sets of trials: the first on Pitcairn, the second in New Zealand. Preparations got under way on the island, where the accused men helped to build their own prison. The locals wanted the press excluded; as a compromise, and to prevent the place from being swamped, Britain decided to accredit just six journalists. News organizations around the world were invited to make a pitch.

On holiday in Japan at the time, I submitted a rather hurried application, pointing out my long-standing interest in the story. I also mentioned that I would be able to file for the Independent's sister paper, the New Zealand Herald. Shortly afterward, I was informed that I had been chosen as a member of the media pool.

Battle of Grills: KFC and El Pollo Loco Fight with Free Chicken

KFC spokeswoman Laurie Schalow describes the cooking process as "slow grilling." She adds that the process keeps the meat moist as opposed to grilling over a flame, during which moisture can quickly evaporate. El Pollo Loco, however, also uses an oven during the initial cooking process. In a February 2006 article, Chain Leader Contributing Editor Lisa Bertagnoli reported that the Los

And so are the freebies. Fast-food chicken chains KFC and El Pollo Loco both are giving away chicken this week. On Monday, 5,300-unit KFC, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., offered a free piece of grilled chicken at participating restaurants throughout the United States. Not to be outdone, 417-unit El Pollo Loco is giving away two pieces of chicken on Tuesday in its biggest market, Los Angeles. The more generous El Pollo Loco deal, a leg and thigh, also comes with two tortillas and salsa.

In fact, he's right. The new product, "KGC," isn't grilled per se but cooked on a rack in a specially patented oven that took four years to develop, according to franchisee Eddie Sheldrake, who operates 15 KFC units in Orange County, Calif.

More importantly, El Pollo Loco launched two brash commercials Saturday that dispute KFC's claim that its new grilled chicken is actually grilled. El Pollo Loco CEO Steve Carley appears in the ad saying KFC's chicken is "cooked on a griddle. No open flames at all."

Karen Eadon, chief marketing officer at El Pollo Loco, says the smaller chain began thinking of ways "to protect and defend our business" when KFC announced last year it was testing grilled chicken in six markets, including nearby San Diego.

The El Pollo Loco commercials, created by Krueger Communications of Venice, Calif., emphasize that KFC prepares product in an oven, not over an open flame. Eadon claims El Pollo Loco's grilling process is the real deal. "Authenticity is becoming important, especially to Millennials. They are looking for authentic products," she says.

No confirmed swine flu in Orlando, Florida Hospital says

At a rushed press conference, Florida Hospital's vice president Dr. Scott Brady said there are no confirmed cases of swine flu in Orlando.

"In this case, if it was implied that it was swine flu, that was a misstatement," Brady said. "We have not had any confirmations from the CDC. We've had two or three cases of positive influenza. We should know about these in 48 hours."


An e-mail sent by one of Florida Hospital's top doctors sent health officials into a flurry today because he incorrectly confirmed the first case of the deadly swine flu in Orlando.

In the e-mail, Dr. Loran Hauck, Chief Medical Officer at Florida Hospital said, "a case was diagnosed here in Orlando today on a tourist from Mexico who came to Disney attractions two days ago to visit."

Ros said a tourist in Orlando was tested and the results are not back from the labs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is the only agency that can test for the particular strain of influenza that develops into swine flu.

Officials at Walt Disney World would not comment and referred all calls to the health officials.

Swine flu has killed 152 people in Mexico and thousands are hospitalized with influenza-like symptoms, the latest reports show. Mexico is suspected of being the center of the outbreak.


There are 64 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States, mostly in New York.

Brady said the tourist met the criteria of being at risk because he had been in Mexico or had contact with someone from Mexico. State health officials are looking into the connection with Mexico.

So far, Florida Hospital Centra Care clinics have sent three swabs to the CDC labs in Jacksonville, officials said. They wouldn't say if it was from same person or three different people.

It will take about 48 hours to determine if the sub-type of influenza is the swine flu.

"We have released one suspect case that was sent to a state lab for testing and we're waiting to see what that is," Orange County Health Department spokesman Dain Weister said. "There may be more than one [case]. Any influenza-like cases are being sent and being looked at."

According to a Monday afternoon update posted by the CDC, there were no confirmed human cases of the swine flu infection in Florida.