Karen Vaughan

In 2000, Constable Karen Vaughan was an experienced member of the Child Abuse team in Wellington, when the Crown Solicitor requested that she travel to Auckland to assist with some interviewing. Kent (UK) police had commenced an investigation into allegations of rape on Pitcairn Island in the Central Pacific Ocean. The young girl at the centre of the investigation had been moved to New Zealand for her own safety and for further inquiries to be made. Pitcairn is best known for its population, many of whom are direct descendants of Tahitian women and sailors that escaped to the island after the mutiny on the British ship The Bounty in 1789.

Karen interviewed the girl who claimed that she had been sexually abused on a number of occasions and told of other girls who had received the same treatment. ‘Operation Unique’ was born, resulting in Karen and her Kent associates subsequently conducting further inquiries in Pitcairn, Australia, Norfolk Island, Los Angeles and the United Kingdom, as many of the alleged victims had moved from the island.

The statements of complaint from the alleged victims resulted in the identification of 30 potential suspects and 96 charges were laid. In 2001 Karen travelled to Pitcairn to examine 50 crime scenes and to assist with the drafting of supporting information and 120 indictments relating to the alleged offences. Sworn in as a police officer by the Governor of Pitcairn, Karen also assisted the Public Prosecutor to prepare submissions to the New Zealand government, which ultimately resulted in the Pitcairn court hearings being conducted in New Zealand. After much legal argument over whether Britain had authority over the island and its people, there were a number of successful prosecutions.

For Karen, a seemingly brief trip to Auckland for an interview became an almost six year saga. When the Pitcairn investigation began, Karen’s children were aged two, three and five, so Police would not have been able to utilise Karen’s special skills without the strong support of her family. During the investigation, Karen spent 670 nights away from home, took more than 250 international and domestic flights, visited Pitcairn six times and Australia 12 times, as well as the United Kingdom, Norfolk Island and cities throughout New Zealand. Each Pitcairn trip took almost a month and involved long days in small vessels, in often rough sea conditions.

After a period as a family violence coordinator, Karen is now a Senior Prosecutor based in Porirua.