CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Lawyers for the Virgin Islands government have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by victims of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arguing the victims’ claims that government officials aided Epstein’s sex trafficking “have no merit.”
In a 36-page memorandum filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, lawyers for the V.I. government said the lawsuit’s venue is improper, but the case should also not be heard in a Virgin Islands court because the “allegations are so devoid of merit,” and “the jurisdiction and venue allegations are so substantially lacking, that the Court should not reward them with transfer. Dismissal is the appropriate disposition.”
The lawsuit was filed in November by five of Epstein’s victims, and a sixth plaintiff was added in an amended class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in December. The court has granted the victims anonymity in the civil proceeding, and they are identified in court documents as “Jane Doe” one through six.
Defendants include the Virgin Islands government and seven officials — Epstein’s long-time employee, former V.I. first lady Cecile deJongh; former governors John deJongh Jr. and Kenneth Mapp; former senators Celestino White Sr. and Carlton Dowe; V.I. Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett; and former Attorney General Vincent Frazer.
The lawsuit includes allegations that Cecile deJongh stayed at Epstein’s New York apartment for a month in 2017, and that Plaskett “visited Epstein at his New York mansion to request that he contribute to her political campaigns.”
But according to the government’s motion to dismiss, deJongh’s actions “are not attributable to the Government, and, in any event, Ms. De Jongh was not First Lady in 2017,” and “Likewise, the actions of Ms. Plaskett while running for federal office are not attributable to the Government.”
There are also 100 unnamed “John Doe” defendants, including law enforcement officers who are accused of turning a blind eye to Epstein’s crimes.
“All the John Doe defendants except the police officers are federal, not Territorial, employees,” including U.S. Customs agents, air traffic controllers, and the U.S. Coast Guard, according to the government’s motion.
The lawsuit also claims that V.I. Police failed to question or investigate Epstein and his female guests, but “The Complaint fails to allege any law that imposed a duty on USVI police officers that was breached here,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, “does not allege that law enforcement received any reports or complaints of sex crimes involving Epstein or otherwise had a lawful basis to search and/or investigate Epstein and his female guests,” and “Even if law enforcement had received such reports,” the responsibility for law enforcement to conduct investigations are “primarily discretionary,” and not a basis for a negligence claim against the government, according to the motion to dismiss.
The lawsuit’s claims also include allegations that the V.I. Economic Development Commission provided $300 million in tax breaks to Epstein and his companies, but the Economic Development Authority exists “separates and apart from the Government of the Virgin Islands,” and the benefits Epstein received are authorized by federal statute.
“There is no allegation that the EDC, even if it were not separate from the Government, did anything but follow statutory requirements in granting certain tax benefits to Epstein’s businesses,” according to the motion to dismiss.
Cecile deJongh worked for Epstein for two decades, before and after his conviction for sexually abusing underage girls in Florida in 2008, and during her husband John deJongh’s tenure as governor of the Virgin Islands. She denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes in a 2023 deposition as part of the V.I. government’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase bank.
In that lawsuit and other Epstein-related claims, the government retained the private law firm of Motley Rice, which received $48.25 million of the $253.95 million in settlements the government reached with JPMorgan, Epstein’s estate, and Epstein associate Leon Black.
On Thursday, Motley Rice lawyer David Ackerman filed an appearance on behalf of the V.I. government, Mapp, and Frazer.
Assistant V.I. Attorney General and Civil Division Chief Venetia Velazquez had filed an appearance on behalf of those defendants in February, and the motion to dismiss identified Ackerman as the lead trial counsel on behalf of the government, Mapp, and Frazer.
The government is only representing those three defendants, and the deJonghs and other defendants are responsible for retaining their own attorneys.
In January, attorneys for former Gov. John deJongh Jr., Daniel Cevallos of New York and David Cattie of St. Thomas, filed a 26-page motion to dismiss the case, or have it transferred to the Virgin Islands District Court.
“Rarely are there so many grounds to ask for dismissal of a complaint at this stage,” according to the motion, which argues the lawsuit makes “insufficient allegations” against John deJongh, and that he cannot be held liable for allegations against his wife.
Cevallos filed a notice Sunday, joining the government’s motion to dismiss.
Velazquez has also requested a conference with Judge Arun Subramanian to resolve a dispute over disclosure of the plaintiff victims’ identities to the government, according to a letter published by the court Friday. The victims’ attorney, Jordan Merson, responded that the parties have been unable to agree to a stipulation, and disclosure is not required at this time.
Subramanian has not yet responded to the request, according to publicly available court records filed as of Monday night.
Meanwhile earlier in the day, reports began circulating that Governor Albert Bryan Jr. requested the resignation of Virgin Islands Attorney General Ariel Smith. When reached for comment as to whether Bryan terminated Smith, Government House Communications Director Richard Motta Jr. responded via text message that Smith “is still the Attorney General.”
Neither Smith nor her spokesperson could be reached for comment Monday.
In January 2023, Bryan announced he had terminated then Attorney General Denise George, a decision that came days after it was reported that George, in her capacity as Attorney General, had filed a lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase. Bryan and others, including Plaskett and former Gov. deJongh, were eventually deposed in the case, and redacted copies of those depositions were released publicly.
By SUZANNE CARLSON/V.I. Daily News