CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A native of Dominica in official custody for an alleged shooting who was re-arrested for an alleged burglary last month was re-arrested again this morning for the alleged gunpoint rape of a 16-year-old girl, authorities said.
Matthew Fontaine, 28, currently of the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility, was arrested at 10:10 a.m. today and charged with first-degree aggravated rape—domestic violence, first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful sexual contact, child abuse; second-degree rape and first-degree assault, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
“Fontaine was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old female on several occasions,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said. “The victim reported that he threatened her with a firearm during the sexual assaults.”
Bail for Fontaine was set at $150,000. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections (BOC) pending an advice-of-rights hearing.
St. Thomas/St. John Chief of Police Steven Philip said he “thanks the members of the Criminal Investigation and Youth Investigation Bureaus for working together to bring this case to the forefront of a problem present in our community.”
“We must protect our children, and hopefully this will be the start of persons who know something, coming forward and saying something,” Chief Philip said. “According to a Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey (2019), every 73 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. Americans, ages 12-34 are the highest risk years for rape and sexual assault. “Just as there is no excuse for domestic violence, there is no excuse for sexual violence.”