A St. Croix man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for producing child pornography and another seven years for second-degree rape of the girl in videos he distributed online, United States Attorney Delia L. Smith said Wednesday.
Between January 2021 and August 2022, Dante James, 28, had an illegal sexual relationship with his steel pan student. At some point, James, a member of the Rising Stars Steel Orchestra and music major at the University of the Virgin Islands, started secretly filming his encounters with the girl, who was 16 or 17 at the time, according to court records.
When the victim learned of the videos, she asked that they be deleted. Instead, James posted them on social media, Smith said.
James, who was an active participant and volunteer with the Apostolic Faith Youth Group, the St. Croix Junior Bowlers League, the Allen Burke Basketball Foundation, and other youth-focused organizations, was arrested in April 2023 and pleaded not guilty. Jurors were shown photos of the victim as well as the sexually explicit videos. He was convicted July 12, according to court records.
James’ two sentences were to be served concurrently, followed by a decade of supervised release and an $8,000 fine, Smith said.
“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 community for our children,” Smith said.
Homeland Security Investigations Assistant Special Agent in Charge Eugene Thomas said James’ position as a role model and leader to young people made his actions particularly heinous.
“The defendant’s sexual abuse was also an abuse of trust,” Thomas said. “HSI will continue to work with the Virgin Islands Police Department to ensure that predators who prey on minors in our community are convicted of their crimes.”
James’ sentencing comes a day after authorities announced the guilty pleas of two other St. Croix men for sexual assaults on minors.
Keithley Jones, 54, pleaded guilty to aggravated rape, unlawful sexual contact, and child abuse for two years of brazen assaults against a girl starting when she was nine years old, Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea said.
Juan “Tio Felo” Bermudez, 66, pleaded guilty to federal crimes of coercing a preadolescent 13-year-old girl into sex acts he filmed in the spring of 2022. Although Bermudez avoided rape charges, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment.
According to a 2019 Justice Department National Crime Victimization Survey, an American is sexually assaulted every 73 seconds. Americans, ages 12 to 34, are the highest risk years for rape and sexual assault.
