U.S. Virgin Islands — V.I. Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea announced that 43-year-old Daniel Cove of St. Croix appeared in V.I. Superior Court on St. Croix on September 10, 2026, for an Advice of Rights hearing and arraignment following his arrest for failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
Cove was charged with Failure to Keep Sex Offender Registration Current, in violation of Title 14 V.I.C. § 1724(d)(2) and Title 14 V.I.C. § 1730(a), and Failure to Verify Address or Keep Sex Offender Registration Current, in violation of Title 14 V.I.C. § 1724(d)(4) and Title 14 V.I.C. § 1730(a). The matter was heard before the Honorable Magistrate Judge Yolan Brow-Ross.
Bail was set at $5,500. Cove was unable to post bail and remains in custody.
Cove, a registered Tier 2 sex offender, is required under Chapter 86, Section 1722 of Title 14 of the Virgin Islands Code to register with the Virgin Islands Department of Justice and maintain current registration information. Tier 2 offenders are required to appear every six months from their initial registration date for a period of 25 years.
A warrant was issued for Cove after he failed to appear at the Department of Justice on August 7, 2026, or on subsequent scheduled dates to update his registration information as required by law. His most recent registration was completed on May 15, 2026.
Cove was arrested on September 9, 2026, in downtown Christiansted through a coordinated effort involving the V.I. Department of Justice’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), the U.S. Marshals Service Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the Virgin Islands Police Department.
Cove was convicted in Massachusetts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. Following his relocation to the U.S. Virgin Islands, he completed his initial sex offender registration on June 21, 2013.
A team of Special Agents from the VIDOJ and Sexual Offender Registry (SORNA) unit, with the assistance of U.S. Marshals and other local and federal agencies, routinely conducts unannounced inspections of registered sexual offenders to verify their locations and other personal information, such as their work and home addresses. The Attorney General/VIDOJ is legally mandated to administer and enforce the sex offender registration laws. A registered sexual offender must notify the VIDOJ of his/her name, residence, temporary lodging information, vehicle information, Internet identifiers, telephone numbers, school information, and employment status. Registered sexual offenders in the territory are prosecuted by the Attorney General for failing to register or not keeping their registration current, as required by this law, and if convicted, the penalty is a fine of not less than $3,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, or imprisonment for not less than three months or more than two years, or both. The law also provides that it is an offense to assist a sex offender to evade the registration requirements, which carries a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $2,000.00, or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
The sex offender registry is available for public view at https://usvi.nsopw.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2026
Sandra Goomansingh
Media Relations Director
(340) 774-5666 ext. 10105
Email: sandra.goomansingh@doj.vi.gov