Shawn Christian | |
---|---|
Mayor of the Pitcairn Islands | |
Assumed office 1 January 2014 |
|
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor |
Victoria Treadell Jonathan Sinclair |
Preceded by | Mike Warren |
Personal details | |
Born |
Pitcairn Island |
14 September 1975
Political party | Independent |
Religion | Seventh-day Adventist |
Shawn Brent Christian (born 14 September 1975) is the mayor of the Pitcairn Islands.
Christian was born to Steve Christian and Olive Jal Brown, and was named after Shawn Branigan, the son of friends of his parents. He is a patrilineal descendant of Fletcher Christian. In 1998 he moved to Australia and studied in Newcastle, New South Wales. Along with his father, who was then serving as the islands' mayor, and older brother Randall, he was implicated in the sexual assault trial in 2004, and after being extradited to New Zealand to stand trial, was found guilty of two counts of child rape and one count of aiding or abetting a rape. He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, but was released after two years.
In the 2013 elections, Christian was elected mayor of the Pitcairn Islands, beating Simon Young in the third round of voting.