The main defense consisted of disputing the British sovereignty of the island, and thus the the applicability of British law regarding sexual offenses. Instead, it was claimed that the island had its unique culture permitting the sexual acts that they stood on trial for.
What a fucked up case. They couldn’t be sent to prison because they were the ones who knew how to operate the island ferry. Eventually one of the accused got acquitted, some others sent to community service, and the mayor got a couple of years. The mayor was dismissed, his sister became the interim mayor, and eventually the guy that got acquitted became the next mayor. Fucking shit.