Police arrested a 23-year-old St. Thomas man for allegedly trading explicit photos with a 15-year-old high school girl, according to court records filed Monday.
K’Moi Hart was charged with computer pornography, obscene internet contact with a minor, second-degree unlawful sexual contact, and possession of depictions of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor.
The girl was 14 and in her ninth grade school uniform when she met the man at her school. Hart was on campus to deliver a Valentine’s Day present to another girlfriend, aged 17. That girl told police Hart, an adult, had kissed her at the high school many times and frequently brought her and the younger victim lunch, police told the Virgin Islands Superior Court.
A nonsexual romantic relationship developed between Hart and the younger girl that continued for roughly eight months until November, when the girl’s mother investigated her phone, according to court records.
The mother allegedly discovered Hart had sent her daughter a photo of his genitals and the girl had replied with a photo exposing her breasts, according to police.
Hart told police he genuinely cared for the girl, that she helped him through the death of a family member while he tutored her in math and other subjects. He was held on $100,000 bail.
The victim was in tears when her mother came to the school a few hours later, the older friend, now 18, told police.
