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THE UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
GOVERNMENT HOUSE
Charlotte Amalie, VI. 00802
340-774-0001
July 24, 2014
VIA U.S. First Class Mail
Ms. Dawn Doran, Acting Director
SMART Office/Office of Justice Programs
U.S. Department of Justice
810 7th Street, NW
6th Floor
Washington, ■. 20531
Re: Update on the Efforts of the United States Virgin Islands to Maintain
its Substantial Implementation Status and to Implement the
Remaining SORNA Requirements
Dear Ms. Doran:
This letter is in response to your correspondence dated April 17, 2014 and in accordance
with the Supplemental Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification that are
referenced in your letter. The Virgin Islands Department of Justice (the "Department"), on behalf
of the Territory is committed to continue to work with the personnel of the United States
Department of Justice's Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending,
Registering, and Tracking ("SMART') to preserve our status as one of the United States
jurisdictions that has substantially implemented the provisions of the Sex Offender Registration
and Notification Act ("SORNA"), Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of
2006. The Virgin Islands Department of Justice continues to work closely with other federal and
local law enforcement agencies as well as other interested local non law-enforcement agencies to
monitor, track and apprehend sex offenders in the Territory. Moreover, the Virgin Islands Sex
Offender Registry's public website, which was established with the assistance of the SMART
Office as part of the Territory and Tribe Sex Offender Registry System, continues to serve an
integral role in the program, making it possible for the our residents to beware of known convicted
sexual predators who reside in the Territory.
The United States Virgin Islands continues to substantially implement the requirements of
SORNA. There have been no legislative changes to our local sex offender statute since July 27, 2013.
EFTA00598533
Letter to Dawn Duran- Update on the United States Virgin Islands' Efforts to Maintain its
Substantial Compliance Status and to Implement to Remaining SORNA Requirements
July 24, 2014
Page 1 of3
Of concern, as mentioned in my previous letter dated June 12, 2013, is that the new
amendments to our local statute are being challenged by pending litigation in the Superior Court
of the Virgin Islands. In that case, a sex offender is challenging the new requirements which now
require him to register, when in the past he was not required to register on account of his conviction
date having predated the effective date of the statute. He has requested that the Court have his
name removed from the registry. Depending on the outcome of the case, additional amendments
to the local statute may be required. We will continue to monitor the case.
Our substantial implementation status as an interim assessment is gratifying, but it is the
objective of the Territory to fully implement the SORNA requirements. As we move forward, we
have accomplished many of the goals set forth in my last correspondence. First, I am pleased to
report that the Virgin Islands Sex Offender Program now has direct connectivity to the database
of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (the "FBI"). All of the required information on all sex
offenders who are registering with the Department is now being entered into this database. Second,
we have hired an investigator to work with the program on the island of St. Croix. Third, the
Territory is now submitting the finger and palm prints of all registered sex offenders to the FBI as
required under SORNA. Finally, we have completed the policies and procedures that govern the
operation of the Sex Offender Registry Program. This is a working document that we anticipate
will require some changes as the program continues to evolve.
Additionally, the Department of Justice is in the process of conducting a public awareness
campaign (to include the creation of posters, brochures and public service announcements) aimed
at educating the members of the Virgin Islands community about the Sex Offender Registry
Program and how the Sex Offender Registry can be utilized by these residents to afford them more
protection.
Notwithstanding the above, we continue to experience some challenges to our full
implementation of the SORNA requirements. One challenge relates to our inability to access the
re-allocated 2012 Byrne/JAG Grant Funds that were previously reduced by 10%. As you may
recall, our request to reallocate this money was granted. The purpose of that request was to use
the reallocated money to hire an individual on a temporary basis to assist with the creation of the
policies and procedures and the overall enhancement of the Sex Offender Program. The 10% that
was reallocated was directed to our Law Enforcement Planning Commission (