Payne Asked Staffer to Climb on Table to Turn on TV While He Stared From Behind, Told Her "I Love You," Lawsuit Seeking Punitive Damages Says

The legislative staffer who accused former senator Steven Payne of sexual assault, sparking a scandal that eventually led to his expulsion from the V.I. Legislature, has taken her case to the V.I. Superior Court.

In April 2022, Consortium journalists broke the news that the 34th Legislature was investigating then-Senator Steven Payne following reports from a young staff member that she had been treated inappropriately during a work trip to St. Croix. Following reports of the initial complaint which sparked a preliminary investigation by a legislative committee, two other women came forward, one of whom repeated allegations that she had made previously but which had never been picked up by press in the Virgin Islands

Amid denials of wrongdoing by Mr. Payne, a third woman contacted Consortium journalists, claiming that she was sexually assaulted by the former law enforcement officer turned lawmaker while she was still a minor.

With a chorus of political and civil society organizations calling for his ouster, a defiant Payne was finally expelled from the Senate in July of 2022. He has since filed suit against the 34th Legislature and its president Senator Donna Frett-Gregory in a matter that came before the Supreme Court for oral argument on Tuesday.