Jay Calvin Warren (born 29 July 1956) is a political figure from the Pacific territory of the

Pitcairn Islands The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four i ...

Political roles

Jay Warren was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

of the last remaining

British dependency The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held on 15 December 2004, defeating

Brenda Christian Brenda Vera Amelia Lupton-Christian (born February 25, 1953) is a political figure from the Pacific territory of the Pitcairn Islands. When her brother Steve Christian was removed from the office of mayor following the 2004 Pitcairn child sexu ...

, who had held the mayoralty in an interim capacity following the dismissal from the post of her brother,

Steve Christian Steven Raymond Christian (born 26 June 1951, Pitcairn Island) is a politician, convicted sex offender and child rapist from the Pitcairn Islands. He was mayor of the islands from 1999 until 2004, when he was removed from office after being fo ...

, by the British authorities on 30 October 2004, following his

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

convictions. Warren was expected to take up his duties sometime around Christmas, when he was to return from

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...

, where his daughter Darylynn was hospitalized and recovering from a

longboat A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boa ...

accident in which her arm was nearly severed. Besides Darylynn, he has another child, Charlene. Jay Warren was no stranger to the post to which he was elected. From 1 January 1991 to 31 December 1999, he served in an almost identical capacity as ''Magistrate,'' as the chief elected official was known prior to a constitutional revision in 1999. Previously, after a brief stint as a member of the

Island Council An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ca ...

in 1982, he had assumed the second-most influential position on the island in 1985, as chairman of the ''Internal Committee.'' He continued to hold this office up to his election to the office of magistrate in late 1990. As magistrate throughout most of the 1990s, Warren had executive, legislative, and judicial authority, serving ''ex officio'' as chairman of the

, which doubles as the dependency's legislature and court. Following the constitutional review and the replacement of the magistrate by a mayor in 1999,

was elected to the new position. Warren remained politically active, however, and served two further terms (in 2000 and 2002) as chairman of the Internal Committee. Warren's election to the mayoralty in 2004 was welcomed by British Deputy Governor Matthew Forbes. "We appointed Jay as chairman of the (island's) internal committee in the period after the trials and before this election," Forbes told

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and cu ...

from his office at the British High Commission (the equivalent of an embassy in

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

countries) in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

. "He's very experienced and I'm sure he'll make a very good mayor." He was succeeded by Mike Warren as mayor in December 2007.

Charges and acquittal

In the

2004 Pitcairn Islands sexual assault trial In the Pitcairn sexual assault trial of 2004 seven men living on Pitcairn Island faced 55 charges relating to sexual offences against children and young people. The accused represented a third of the island's male population and included Steve Ch ...

Warren was charged with the indecent assault of a 12-year-old girl. He was acquitted on 24 October 2004, the only one of the seven defendants to be found not guilty. He is the brother of

Meralda Warren Meralda Elva Junior Warren (born 28 June 1959) is an artist and poet of the Pitcairn Islands, a remote British Overseas Territory in the South Pacific. She works in both English and Pitkern, the island's distinctive creole language. Her book, '' ...

, who has also held political office and is one of the most vocal defenders of the islanders' traditional acceptance and practice of sexual activity from puberty onwards. Meralda Warren was also elected to the council on 15 December 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Jay 1956 births Living people People acquitted of sex crimes Pitcairn Islands people Pitcairn Islands people of Polynesian descent Pitcairn Islands people of English descent Pitcairn Islands people of American descent Pitcairn Islands people of Saint Kitts and Nevis descent Pitcairn Islands people of Scottish descent Pitcairn Islands people of Manx descent Mayors of the Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands Seventh-day Adventists Heads of government who were later imprisoned Members of the Island Council of the Pitcairn Islands

Political roles

Charges and acquittal

See also

References