Judge Orders Stacey Plaskett to Stand Trial in Epstein Case; Tosses Claims Against VI Government

A federal judge has dismissed most of the civil claims brought against former and current U.S. Virgin Islands officials in a high-profile lawsuit alleging complicity in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. In a ruling issued Friday, Judge Arun Subramanian of the Southern District of New York granted motions to dismiss all claims against the Government of the Virgin Islands, former Governors John de Jongh and Kenneth Mapp, former Attorney General Vincent Frazer, former Senators Celestino White and Carlton Dowe, and First Lady Cecile de Jongh. However, the court denied in part a motion to dismiss claims against Delegate Stacey Plaskett, allowing several Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and negligence claims to proceed against her in her individual capacity. The plaintiffs, identified as Jane Does 1 through 6, filed suit in November 2023, alleging that the USVI government and several of its top officials knowingly enabled and benefited from Epstein’s sex trafficking ope...