FREDERIKSTED — A St. Croix man has been accused in the rape of a female minor earlier in the week.
Joseph Simmonds, 25, of New Works, was arrested about 3:49 p.m. on Wednesday after admitting to having sexual relations with a female minor, a police source said.
Simmonds was charged with second-degree aggravated rape, according to the source.
After failing to post $10,000 bail, he was remanded to the custody of Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility pending an advice-of-rights hearing.
The girl’s mother went to the police station in Frederiksted about 12:56 a.m. on Tuesday and told police that her daughter had run away from home.
Later Tuesday morning, the girl returned home and told her mother she had gone to a man’s residence in New Works and had sex with him.
The woman brought her daughter to police headquarters at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and filed a report of unlawful sexual contact.
Although Simmonds allegedly admitted to having sex with the female minor, it is not known through the Virgin Islands Police Department if he was advised of his constitutional rights against self-incrimination before the alleged confession.
VIPD spokesman Glen Dratte did not return a request for comment on the Simmonds case today.
The VIPD did not distribute an official police press release about this incident to the Virgin Islands Free Press.
New Works is near Estate Bethlehem near the St. Croix Educational Complex and the University of the Virgin Islands.
