ST. THOMAS — A University of the Virgin Islands student worker who says he waited nearly two hours for campus security before being violently attacked by two assailants has sued the university, accusing UVI of maintaining inadequate security and failing to protect people on its St. Thomas campus.
Malcolm Joseph was working as a Front Desk Associate and student worker at the Wellness Center on UVI’s Orville E. Kean Campus when the alleged attack occurred on December 22, 2025.
According to a complaint filed in V.I. Superior Court, Joseph was working the evening shift, which ran until 10 p.m., and had been the employee responsible for closing the Wellness Center throughout the semester unless he called out.
Business was particularly slow because of the Christmas season, the lawsuit says, and Joseph contacted campus security at approximately 8 p.m. so an officer could conduct the required security check and be present while he closed the facility. His father had also arrived and was waiting outside to pick him up.
Joseph continued cleaning and completing his closing responsibilities while he waited. Security did not arrive until approximately 9:50 p.m., according to the complaint — nearly two hours after his initial call.
The lawsuit says only one unarmed security officer arrived, although Joseph alleges two officers were normally dispatched for the closing procedure.
Once security arrived, Joseph left the Wellness Center carrying towels that needed to be taken to the gym for washing. He was then “violently attacked by two assailants,” the complaint states.
Joseph alleges he was both assaulted and robbed and suffered serious injuries and loss of property.
The lawsuit contends that the attack was not an isolated security problem but part of what Joseph describes as UVI’s “pattern and practice of providing inadequate security” on campus.
The complaint cites a March 23, 2025 incident in which a female student was allegedly assaulted at a campus dormitory. It also references another incident two days later, when a female student was allegedly robbed of jewelry during the early morning hours.
According to the lawsuit, UVI did not issue an alert regarding that robbery until 5:26 p.m. Joseph also alleges that another robbery occurred behind the campus library after his December attack.
Several senior university officials contacted Joseph in the days following the incident, according to the filing. Athletic Director Karen Carty called on or around December 25 to express concern, followed by UVI President Dr. Safiya George, who also spoke with Joseph about what he had experienced.
Chief of Security Theodore Glasford later contacted Joseph and his mother.
On January 12, Joseph met with Glasford, who allegedly told him that surveillance footage of the attack existed. Joseph says Glasford declined to show him the recording because it was too “graphic.”
Joseph’s negligence lawsuit argues that UVI had a duty to maintain reasonably safe premises and protect students, employees and other people lawfully on campus from foreseeable criminal attacks.
The university allegedly failed to maintain adequate security personnel, implement and enforce reasonable safety procedures, properly train security staff, adequately supervise those responsible for campus security and conduct sufficient inspections intended to identify and address dangerous conditions.
The complaint further alleges that UVI “created the dangerous condition and operated the premises in a manner which permitted the dangerous condition to exist.”
Joseph contends that university officials knew or should have known about the alleged security hazards and the potential for someone on campus to be injured.
UVI’s own publicly stated security services include 24-hour security operations and evening on-campus escort services for students, faculty and staff upon request.
Joseph says the attack resulted in bodily injuries, physical impairment and disability, mental and emotional pain and suffering, loss of property, embarrassment, humiliation and diminished enjoyment of life. He also says he incurred medical and related expenses and alleges that his injuries are permanent and continuing.
Through attorney John P. Fischer, Joseph is seeking compensatory damages in an amount to be determined at trial, along with pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and fees. The complaint also seeks punitive damages if warranted by the evidence and demands a jury trial.
