St. Croix Steel Pan Instructor Sentenced to 15 Years for Exploiting 16-Year-Old and Sharing Abuse Video

Dante James, a 28-year-old resident of St. Croix, was sentenced in federal court to 15 years in prison on Wednesday, on convictions of producing child pornography and second-degree rape. The sentencing was handed down by District Judge Wilma Lewis, who also ordered that James serve 84 months for the rape charge concurrently with his 180-month sentence for child pornography.  Following his prison term, James will be under supervised release for 10 years, must pay a $100 special assessment, and has been fined $8,000. The jury found James guilty on July 12, 2024. U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith emphasized the impact of sexual abuse on the community, stating, "Sexual abuse impacts our entire community and exposes its victims to a lifetime of trauma. It is particularly heinous when sexual predators exploit our young children. We remain committed to fully seeking justice for victims of child exploitation and sexual abuse by prosecuting sex offenders of the law in hopes of creating a safe comm...