KINGSHILL — Attorney General Denise George said a registered sex offender was apprehended by VIDOJ special agents on Wednesday at the VIDOJ complex at Estate La Reine on St. Croix.
Asymo L. Prentice, 29, of Christiansted, St. Croix, was arrested for failure to comply with registration requirements and violating probation. After Prentice’s name was entered in the NCIC system and agents found out that he also wanted on an outstanding criminal warrant in Georgia.
Prentice was convicted of child molestation charges in 2008 and was sentenced to serve 15 years in Atlanta, Georgia, however, he was released on parole for good behavior after serving only eight years. After Prentice’s release, Prentice relocated back to the Virgin Islands and registered as a Tier 2 sex offender. He was therefore required to register every six months for 25 years.
After Prentice updated his last sex offender registration on October 22, 2020, he failed to update the next one which was due on March 10, 2021. Also, his last known verification listed his address as Annas Retreat St. Thomas, however, he was located on St. Croix. His location as of his last verification, therefore, was unknown as investigators from the V.I. Department of Justice (VIDOJ) were actively searching for him.
Once located on St. Croix, he was asked to report to the DOJ office to update his registration. He was then arrested by investigators upon arrival. After his arrest, his name was entered into the NCIC System that revealed he is presently a fugitive from Justice in Atlanta Georgia and had outstanding warrants. DOJ will commence extradition proceedings so
that Prentice will be extradited to Atlanta Georgia.
VIDOJ special agents also found Everton Lavinier, 55, of St. Thomas who was convicted second-degree rape in 1996. When Lavinier failed to register on his last scheduled check-in date, VIDOJ agents tracked him to his current location.