Title 14 — Crimes
77 chapters · 525 sections in this title.
14 V.I.C. § 1183 Reporting official statements as slander
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No oral, impartial and accurate account or exposition of judicial, legislative or of any other official act, nor of the statements made while in the discussion, argumentation and debating of said acts shall be considered slander.
14 V.I.C. § 1191 Loitering defined; punishment
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(a) To loiter means to be dilatory, to stand idly around, to linger, delay or wander about, or to remain, abide, or tarry in a public place and, in doing so, engage in any one of the activities set forth in subsections (b) and (c). (b) A person commits the crime of loitering when…
14 V.I.C. § 1221 Definitions
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In this chapter: (1) “Lottery” means any scheme for the disposal or distribution of money or property by chance, among persons who have paid or promised to pay any valuable consideration for the chance of obtaining such property or a portion of it, or for any share or interest in…
14 V.I.C. § 1222 Conducting a lottery
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(a) Whoever contrives, prepares, sets up, proposes or draws any lottery, other than an official lottery of the Virgin Islands of the United States, shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both. (b) Whoever participates in an organized criminal lo…
14 V.I.C. § 1223 Selling lottery tickets
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(a) Whoever sells, gives or in any manner whatsoever furnishes or transfers to or for any other person—(1) any ticket, chance, share or interest; or(2) any paper, certificate or instrument purporting or understood to be or represent any ticket, chance, share or interest—in or dep…
14 V.I.C. § 1224 Gambling
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(a) Whoever—(1) deals, plays, carries on, opens, conducts or engages in, either as owner or employee, either for hire or not, any game of chance played with dice, cards, slot machines, video gaming devices or machines, any electrically or mechanically operated device or machine o…
14 V.I.C. § 1225 Maintaining gambling establishment
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Whoever knowingly permits any game of chance, as described in section 1224 of this title, to be played, conducted or dealt in any house rented or owned, in whole or part, by him, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
14 V.I.C. § 1226 Seizure of gambling apparatus
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Any person who is required or authorized to arrest any person for a violation of the provisions of this chapter, is also authorized and required to seize any table, cards, dice or other apparatus or article suitable for gambling purposes including any digital devices, found in th…
14 V.I.C. § 1227 Forfeiture
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(a) Property, whether real or personal, offered as a stake, or any money, property, or other things of value staked, paid, bet, wagered, laid, or deposited in connection with or as a part of any game of chance, lottery, gambling scheme or device, gift enterprise, or other trade s…
14 V.I.C. § 1261 Destroying written instruments
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Whoever maliciously mutilates, tears, defaces, obliterates or destroys any written instrument, the property of another, the false making of which would be forgery, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
14 V.I.C. § 1262 Destruction of bridges, roads, highways, etc
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(1) Whoever maliciously digs up, removes, displaces, breaks or otherwise injures, obstructs or destroys—(1) any public highway or bridge;(2) any private way laid out by authority of law; or(3) any bridge upon such highway or private way—shall be fined not more than $500 or impris…
14 V.I.C. § 1263 Tampering and illegal use of utility or cable television equipment
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(a) As used in this section, “utility” includes any person, firm, corporation, or association, whether private, public, quasi-public, or cooperative which is engaged in the sale, generation, provision, or delivery of gas, electricity, heat, water, oil, sewer service, telephone se…
14 V.I.C. § 1264 Taking water without authority; injury to canal, etc
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(1) Whoever—(1) without authority of the owner or managing agent and with intent to defraud, takes water from any canal, well, cistern, ditch, flume or reservoir used for the purpose of holding or conveying water for manufacturing, agriculture, irrigation, generation of power or …
14 V.I.C. § 1265 Destroying or defacing tombstones or cemetery grounds
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(1) Whoever—(1) willfully and maliciously defaces, breaks, destroys or removes any—(A) tomb, monument or gravestone erected to any deceased person;(B) memento or memorial; or(C) ornamental plant, tree or shrub appertaining to the place of burial of a human being; or(2) marks, def…
14 V.I.C. § 1265a Destruction of public school property
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(a) Whoever willfully and without lawful authority defaces, damages, destroys or otherwise injures, in any way, any property, real or personal, of the Government of the Virgin Islands on the premises or grounds of a public school shall be fined not less than $5,000 nor more than …
14 V.I.C. § 1265b Liability of parents
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The parents, guardians or other person having legal custody of a minor less than 18 years of age who shall injure any public or private school property shall be liable to (i) in the case of public school property, the Government of the Virgin Islands, or (ii) in the case of priva…
14 V.I.C. § 1265c Willful or negligent destruction or damage of public fire hydrants
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(a) Whoever willfully destroys or damages in any manner a public fire hydrant shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, shall be fined not less than $100 and not more than $500, or imprisoned not less than one month and not more than nine months or both, and shall pay to the Government o…
14 V.I.C. § 1266 Destruction of other property
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Whoever maliciously injures or destroys any real or personal property not his own, in cases not otherwise specified in this Code, shall be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
14 V.I.C. § 1267 Institutional vandalism
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(a) Whoever willfully defaces, breaks, destroys, removes or otherwise damages:(1) any church, synagogue or other building, structure or place used primarily for religious worship or for other religious purposes;(2) any cemetery, mortuary or other facility used for the purpose of …
14 V.I.C. § 1301 Forcible marriage; defilement
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(1) Whoever takes any woman unlawfully, against her will, and by force, menace or duress, compels her—(1) to marry him;(2) to marry any other person; or(3) to be defiled—shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years. (1) to marry him; (2) to marry any other person; or (3) to be defi…
14 V.I.C. § 1302 Solemnizing forbidden marriages
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Whoever, being authorized to solemnize marriages, willfully and knowingly solemnizes any marriage forbidden by law, shall be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
14 V.I.C. § 1303 Falsely recording marriages
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(1) Whoever—(1) being authorized to solemnize any marriage, willfully makes a false return of any marriage or pretended marriage to the court;(2) contracts such a marriage;(3) knowingly takes part in the celebration of such a marriage; or(4) makes a false record of any marriage r…
14 V.I.C. § 1341 Mayhem defined
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(a) Whoever willfully and with intent to commit a felony or to injure, disfigure or disable, inflicts upon the person of another any injury which—(1) seriously disfigures his person by any mutilation thereof;(2) destroys or disables any member or organ of his body; or(3) seriousl…
14 V.I.C. § 1342 Manner of inflicting the injury, relevance of
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To constitute mayhem, it is immaterial by what means or instrument, or in what manner, the injury was inflicted.
14 V.I.C. § 1343 Disabling self to escape performance of duty
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Whoever, with design to disable himself from performing a legal duty, existing or anticipated, inflicts upon himself an injury, whereby he is so disabled, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
14 V.I.C. § 1344 Recovery of injured person as a defense
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When, upon a trial for mayhem, it appears that the person injured has, before the time of trial, so far recovered from the injury, that he is no longer disfigured by it in personal appearance, or disabled in any member or organ of his body, or affected in physical vigor, no convi…
14 V.I.C. § 1381 Vehicle defined
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As used in this chapter “vehicle” means a device in, upon, or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except a device moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, and also means any watercraft of any description…
14 V.I.C. § 1382 Unauthorized use of vehicle
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A person not entitled to possession of a vehicle who, without the consent of the owner and with intent to deprive him, temporarily or otherwise, of the vehicle or its possession, takes, uses or drives the vehicle is guilty of a felony.
14 V.I.C. § 1383 Receiving or disposing of a vehicle
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A person, not entitled to the possession of a vehicle who receives, possesses, conceals, sells or disposes of it, knowing it to be stolen or converted under circumstances constituting a crime, is guilty of a felony.
14 V.I.C. § 1384 Damaging or tampering with a vehicle
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(a) A person who, with intent and without right to do so, damages a vehicle or damages or removes any of its parts or components is guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) A person who, without right to do so and with intent to commit a crime, tampers with a vehicle, or goes in or on it, or…
14 V.I.C. § 1385 False report of theft or conversion
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A person who knowingly makes a false report of the theft or conversion of a vehicle to a peace officer or to the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department (V.I.P.D.) is guilty of a misdemeanor.
14 V.I.C. § 1386 Removed, falsified or unauthorized identification numbers, registration or licenses on vehicle or engine
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(a) A person who wilfully removes or falsifies an identification number of a vehicle or an engine for a vehicle is guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) A person who, wilfully and with intent to conceal or misrepresent the identity of a vehicle or engine, removes or falsifies an identific…
14 V.I.C. § 1387 Evidence of criminal intent or knowledge
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In a prosecution of a crime specified in this act, evidence that the defendant has committed a prior act or acts of the same kind is admissible to prove criminal intent or knowledge.
14 V.I.C. § 1388 Principals
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A person who, whether present or absent, aids, abets, induces, procures or causes the commission of an act which, if done directly by him, would be a felony or a misdemeanor under a provision of this chapter, is guilty of the same felony or misdemeanor.
14 V.I.C. § 1389 Leaving scene of accident
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Whoever, knowing that he has by the operation of a motor vehicle injured any person, fails to remain at the place where the injury occurred to render assistance to the injured person, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
14 V.I.C. § 1390 Effect on other laws
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The penal provisions of this chapter in no way repeal or modify any existing provision of criminal law but are additional and supplementary thereto.
14 V.I.C. § 1421 Masking or removing signal lights
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(1) Whoever, with intent to bring any vessel into danger, willfully—(1) marks, alters or removes any light or signal; or(2) exhibits any light or signal—shall be imprisoned not more than 15 years. (1) marks, alters or removes any light or signal; or (2) exhibits any light or sign…
14 V.I.C. § 1422 Obstructing harbors
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(1) Whoever, without permission of the harbormaster—(1) throws overboard from any vessel the ballast, or any part thereof, within any port, harbor or cove, into which vessels may enter for the purpose of receiving or discharging cargo; or(2) otherwise places in such port, harbor …
14 V.I.C. § 1423 Mooring vessels to buoy or beacon; lien for repairs
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(a) Whoever—(1) moors any vessel, boat, raft or scow to any buoy or beacon placed in the water within the jurisdiction of the Virgin Islands by authority of the Government of the Virgin Islands or the United States Lighthouse Service;(2) in any manner, hangs onto the same with an…
14 V.I.C. § 1461 Public nuisance defined
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(1) Anything which—(1) is injurious to health, indecent, offensive to the senses or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property by a considerable number of persons; or(2) unlawfully obstructs the customary free…
14 V.I.C. § 1462 Public nuisance, maintaining, failure to remove
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(1) Whoever—(1) maintains or commits any public nuisance for which no punishment is prescribed elsewhere in this title or other law; or(2) willfully omits to perform any legal duty relating to the removal of a public nuisance—shall be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned not mo…
14 V.I.C. § 1501 Corruptly influencing jurors, arbitrators and referees
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(1) Whoever corruptly attempts to influence a juror, or any person summoned or drawn as a juror, chosen as an arbitrator or appointed as a commissioner or referee, in respect to his verdict in, or decision of, any cause or proceeding, pending or about to be brought before him, by…
14 V.I.C. § 1502 Corrupt acts by jurors, arbitrators and referees
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(1) Whoever, being a juror, or a person summoned as a juror, chosen as an arbitrator or appointed as a commissioner or referee—(1) makes any promise or agreement to give a verdict or decision for or against any party; or(2) willfully and corruptly permits any communication to be …
14 V.I.C. § 1503 Preparing false evidence
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Whoever prepares any false or antedated book, paper, record, instrument or other matter or thing, with intent to produce it or to allow it to be produced as genuine or true, upon any trial, proceeding or inquiry whatever, authorized by law, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or …
14 V.I.C. § 1504 Offering false documents in evidence
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Whoever, upon any trial, proceeding, inquiry or investigation authorized or permitted by law, offers in evidence as genuine or true, any book, paper, document, record or other instrument or writing, knowing the same to have been forged or fraudulently altered or antedated, shall …
14 V.I.C. § 1505 Influencing the testimony of witnesses
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(1) Whoever—(1) practices any fraud or deceit on; or(2) knowingly makes or exhibits any false statement, representation, token or writing to—any witness, or person about to be called as a witness, upon any trial, proceeding, inquiry or investigation authorized by law, shall be fi…
14 V.I.C. § 1506 Destruction of evidence
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Whoever, knowing that any book, paper, record, instrument, writing or other matter or thing is about to be produced in evidence upon any trial, inquiry or investigation authorized by law, willfully destroys or conceals the same, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned n…
14 V.I.C. § 1507 Preventing or dissuading witnesses from attending trial
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Whoever willfully prevents or dissuades any person who is or may become a witness, from attending any trial, proceeding or inquiry authorized by law, shall be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
14 V.I.C. § 1508 Interfering with an officer, firefighter, or first responder discharging his duty
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(a) No person, without privilege to do so and with purpose to prevent, obstruct, or delay the performance by a peace officer, firefighter, or first responder of any authorized act within the peace officer’s, firefighter’s, or first responder’s official capacity, shall do any act …
14 V.I.C. § 1508a Malicious interference with emergency communications
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(a) As used in this section(1) “Emergency communication” means any telephone call or any other form of communication made, transmitted or facilitated by radio, computer, or any other electronic device that is intended by its maker to provide warning or information pertaining to a…