U.S. Virgin Islands – V.I. Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea announced that Kenneth L. Springer, 50, of Catherine’s Rest, was sentenced today in V.I. Superior Court on three counts of Obtaining Money by False Pretense. He was placed on probation for five years. Springer had falsely presented himself as a contractor and unlawfully obtained money from multiple individuals in 2007.
U.S. Virgin Islands – V.I. Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea announced Wednesday that a jury convicted 34-year-old Kertis Tonge, Jr. of Murder in the First Degree, Murder in the Second Degree, Assault in the First Degree, Assault in the Third Degree, Reckless Endangerment, Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm, and Unauthorized Possession of Ammunition in the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Quanza Heath. The Honorable Judge Ernest E. Morris, Jr. of the Virgin Islands Superior Court presided over the trial. Sentencing is scheduled for November 19, 2025.
U.S. Virgin Islands – Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea today joined a bipartisan coalition of 47 state attorneys general in calling on major search engines and payment platforms to take stronger action against the growing spread of computer-generated deepfake nonconsensual intimate imagery (NCII), commonly known as “deepfakes.” In a letter to search engines, the coalition outlines the failures of these companies to limit the creation of deepfakes and calls for stronger safeguards – such as warnings and redirecting users away from harmful content – to better protect the public. In a separate letter to payment platforms, the coalition urges these companies to take bolder action to protect the public by identifying and removing payment authorization for deepfake NCII content.
The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD), in coordination with federal law enforcement partners, actively responded to recent threats targeting schools in the St. Croix District. All public schools in the St. Croix District were closed on Monday, August 25, 2025, out of an abundance of caution to protect students, faculty, and staff. Heightened security measures were also implemented across both districts, with VIPD carrying out precautionary searches in the St. Thomas–St. John District. Schools in the ST. John District remained open, as no active threats were reported there.
U.S. Virgin Islands – V.I. Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea announces that 43-year-old Alan Motta, was arrested on Friday, August 15, 2025, for failing to comply with mandatory registration requirements for sex offenders in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Motta, a Tier 3 registered offender, failed to update his registration information with the Virgin Islands Department of Justice (VIDOJ), as required by law.