--- alias: - Virgin Islands Legislature - V.I. Legislature - USVI Legislature - Legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands - 29th Legislature of the Virgin Islands - Senate of the Virgin Islands category: U.S. Government created: 2026-09-25 location: Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands relations: - fn: 11 reverse: true role: senator, 28th Legislature start: 2009-01 type: member_of with: '[[Wayne James]]' summary: Unicameral legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands, whose 2012 sex-offender travel law Epstein's circle sought to shape through senators Carlton Dowe and Celestino White, and several of whose former members dealt with Epstein. tags: - Organization - VirginIslands - Legislature - JeffreyEpstein - SexOffenderRegistration - GovernmentCapture - PublicCorruption updated: 2026-09-25 --- The Legislature of the Virgin Islands is the unicameral legislative body of the [U.S. Virgin Islands](/places/us-virgin-islands/), whose members are called senators and which sits in numbered Legislatures. Under the Revised Organic Act it confirms the heads of executive departments, including the Attorney General, and the members of boards such as that of the [Virgin Islands Port Authority](/organizations/virgin-islands-port-authority/), which the Seventh Legislature created in 1968. In 2012 the 29th Legislature passed the sex-offender monitoring law whose 21-day travel notice the Attorney General waived for [Jeffrey Epstein](/people/jeffrey-epstein/) weeks later at the request of his lawyers; [Cecile de Jongh](/people/cecile-de-jongh/), the office manager of his companies, had told him she would "need to work through Dowe and White," the senators [Carlton Dowe](/people/carlton-dowe/) and [Celestino White](/people/celestino-white/), to change it. Senators and former senators who dealt with Epstein include Dowe, White and [Kenneth Mapp](/people/kenneth-mapp/).[^1][^2][^3][^4] ### Composition The Revised Organic Act of 1954 vests legislative power in the Legislature. The act fixed the number of senators at fifteen from 1966 until 2000, when Congress left the number to territorial law. It provides that the governor appoints the heads of the executive departments "with the advice and consent of the legislature," and that the head of the department of law "shall be known as the attorney general of the Virgin Islands." The Seventh Legislature passed Act 2375 on December 24, 1968, establishing the Port Authority; board members of the authority are limited to two terms unless the Legislature finds that a nominee has rendered "exceptional service."[^1][^2][^5] ### The 2011 and 2012 Sex-Offender Legislation The second amended complaint in Doe 1 v. Government of the United States Virgin Islands quotes emails of May 15, 2011 in which Cecile de Jongh, wife of Governor [John de Jongh](/people/john-de-jongh/), and Epstein discussed revisions to pending sex-offender monitoring legislation: "to waive the notice requirement all together will not be acceptable to the federal DOJ program managers...remember they must review and determine if we are in compliance....this is the suggested language, will it work for you?" The complaint describes the exchange as Cecile de Jongh "working on revisions to legislation for sex offender monitoring to avoid 'violating' Epstein's 'Privacy. Restrict my business and livelihood,'" with a deadline because the "AG needs to submit by June 1."[^4] On May 15, 2012 the Legislative Secretary of the 29th Legislature, Senator Samuel Sanes, wrote to Senator Lisle R. Richards, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety, Homeland Security and Justice, asking him to consider Bill No. 29-0239, "amending chapter 86 of title 14 of the Virgin Islands Code, to expand the laws of the Territory regarding the monitoring and tracking of sex offenders within this jurisdiction." The letter is among Epstein's files released by the [Justice Department](/organizations/department-of-justice/). The Rules and Judiciary Committee heard the bill on June 21, 2012, and it was enacted as Act No. 7372, with a 21-day advance notice requirement for travel that the Attorney General could reduce. Epstein's lawyer Maria Tankenson Hodge later wrote to Attorney General [Vincent Frazer](/people/vincent-frazer/) that "both you and Senator Russell stated during the hearing on the Act before the Rules and Judiciary Committee on June 21, 2012, that the travel notification requirements of this Act were specifically not intended to be penal in nature."[^3][^6] On July 1, 2012, according to the Doe complaint, Cecile de Jongh wrote to Epstein: "Will need to work through Dowe and White" to change the legislation. "In the meantime, we will work with Vincent to give the discretion for status quo for you - thats the least he can do." Frazer reduced Epstein's notice period to 24 hours on August 14, 2012. The complaint alleged that "Epstein was thus allowed to circumvent the recently passed legislation with assistance of Senator Carlton Dowe, Senator Celestino White, and Attorney General Vincent Frazer," and listed against both senators "Changed sex trafficking law in accord with Epstein's lawyer's recommendations." It also alleged that Governor Mapp asked Epstein to help develop a way for [Economic Development Commission](/organizations/economic-development-commission/) beneficiaries to repatriate their income, "and one of Epstein's lawyers drafted proposed legislation for the Governor," and listed "Drafted EDC legislation" in the entry for White. As of June 2023 the territory had not amended its law to bar registered sex offenders from receiving the commission's tax-incentive certificates. The claims against every defendant but Delegate [Stacey Plaskett](/people/stacey-plaskett/) were dismissed in March 2025 for lack of personal jurisdiction in New York, without a ruling on the allegations.[^3][^4][^7][^8] ### Senators and Epstein White, a former police chief who left the Legislature in 2013, signed a contractor's and confidentiality agreement with Epstein for 10,000 dollars in August 2013, and in February 2015 Cecile de Jongh suggested putting him on "some sort of monthly retainer...that is what will get you his loyalty and access." Dowe, a senator in 2004 and until 2013, became executive director of the Port Authority in January 2013 and returned to the post in 2019 after Cecile de Jongh asked Epstein whether he would support his bid. Mapp, who served three terms as a senator from [St. Croix](/places/st-croix/), became governor in 2015 and sought a 275 million dollar loan and campaign money from Epstein. The Doe complaint's chart described Plaskett as Epstein's "friend" against "prior Senator Sean Malone 'who came after Epstein.'" In October 2014 Epstein agreed to give 15,000 dollars to the St. Croix District Democratic Party.[^4][^8][^9] [David Bornn](/people/david-bornn/), a partner from 2017 in Kellerhals Ferguson Kroblin, the firm of Epstein's territorial counsel [Erika Kellerhals](/people/erika-kellerhals/), and later chief legal counsel to Governor [Albert Bryan](/people/albert-bryan/), is described in his 2026 law firm profile as maintaining "access to key local players within the Virgin Islands Government and the Virgin Islands Legislature."[^10] ### The Fireburn Embezzlement Wayne James, elected from St. Croix to the 28th Legislature in 2008, obtained the Legislature's approval shortly after taking office to research the 1878 Fireburn, the post-slavery labor uprising on St. Croix under Danish rule, and from April 2009 submitted requests for funds to copy and translate Fireburn documents at the Danish National Archives. After the Internal Revenue Bureau began garnishing his legislative salary over a 197,000 dollar tax levy, he submitted fake invoices, causing the Legislature to pay him more than 90,000 dollars, of which he kept about 70,000 dollars, including 20,000 dollars for his re-election campaign. He received more than 1,600 pages of documents and never delivered them to the Legislature. A federal jury convicted him of wire fraud and theft of federal program funds on August 16, 2018.[^11] ### 2026 After the Justice Department's release of [Epstein files](/concepts/epstein-files/) in January 2026, Governor Bryan said on March 2, 2026 that he would "absolutely" support a legislative inquiry, adding, "even if I had told DPNR to grant his permit, it's perfectly within the right and power of the governor of the Virgin Islands... So what would the investigation be about?" On March 18, 2026 the Legislature confirmed White, the board chairman Willard John and Leona Smith to further terms on the Port Authority board under the "exceptional service" exception, by votes of 11 to 3, with Senators Kenneth Gittens, Franklin Johnson and Clifford Joseph Sr. opposed. Two days later a federal bank fraud indictment against Dowe was unsealed.[^5][^12] [^1]: 48 U.S.C. section 1571, "Legislature," United States Code, 2023 edition, with amendment notes for Pub. L. 89-548 (1966) and Pub. L. 106-364 (2000). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title48/html/USCODE-2023-title48-chap12-subchapIII-sec1571.htm [^2]: 48 U.S.C. section 1597, "Reorganization of government," United States Code, 2023 edition; Virgin Islands Port Authority, "Our History," accessed September 25, 2026. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title48/html/USCODE-2023-title48-chap12-subchapIV-sec1597.htm ; https://www.viport.com/our-history [^3]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), Exhibit 83, ECF No. 194-24 (filed June 20, 2023), pp. 36 to 47 (Hodge letters of July 16 and July 30, 2012; Frazer letters of July 25 and August 14, 2012). https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011719/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/194-24.pdf [^4]: Doe 1 v. Government of the United States Virgin Islands, No. 1:23-cv-10301-AS (S.D.N.Y.), Second Amended Complaint, ECF No. 112 (May 24, 2024), paragraphs 4 to 6 and charts (Exhibits B, E, F, G and J), pp. 2 to 8, and paragraphs 135 and 161. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.610915/gov.uscourts.nysd.610915.112.0.pdf [^5]: Eader, Tom. "VIPA ED Carlton Dowe indicted on bank fraud, tells board of retirement same day as court appearance." *WTJX,* March 20, 2026. https://newsfeed.wtjx.org/2026-03-20/vipa-ed-carlton-dowe-indicted-on-bank-fraud-tells-board-of-retirement-same-day-as-court-appearance [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01119862, DataSet 9, letter on 29th Legislature of the Virgin Islands letterhead from Senator Samuel Sanes to Senator Lisle R. Richards, May 15, 2012. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01119862.pdf [^7]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Court filings show V.I. First Lady's loyalty to Epstein." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* June 21, 2023. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/court-filings-show-v-i-first-ladys-loyalty-to-epstein/article_c2dca0a7-a243-5365-88c0-389c576ad022.html [^8]: Doe 1 v. Government of the United States Virgin Islands, No. 1:23-cv-10301-AS (S.D.N.Y.), Opinion and Order, ECF No. 202 (March 21, 2025), pp. 1 to 2, 10. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.610915/gov.uscourts.nysd.610915.202.0.pdf [^9]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Files reveal Epstein's efforts to influence V.I. officials; emails with Mapp." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/files-reveal-epstein-s-efforts-to-influence-v-i-officials-emails-with-mapp/article_2dd4fe69-4daf-4dc2-b3b8-37a929002bb6.html ; Virgin Islands Port Authority, "Our History." https://www.viport.com/our-history ; U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, press release 04-560, August 13, 2004. https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2004/August/04_crm_560.htm [^10]: Winston & Strawn LLP (Winston Taylor LLP), "David A. Bornn," attorney profile, accessed September 25, 2026. https://www.winston.com/en/professionals/bornn-david-a [^11]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of the Virgin Islands, "Former Senator Wayne James Found Guilty on Wire Fraud and Embezzlement of Government Funds," August 16, 2018, captured May 25, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20260525040514/https://www.justice.gov/usao-vi/pr/former-senator-wayne-james-found-guilty-wire-fraud-and-embezzlement-government-funds [^12]: "Bryan 'Absolutely' Supports an Epstein Inquiry, Denies Wrongdoing." *St. Thomas Source,* March 2, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20260809212846/https://stthomassource.com/content/2026/03/02/bryan-absolutely-supports-an-epstein-inquiry-denies-wrongdoing/