ST. CROIX — Former Senator Steven Payne Sr. was sentenced to 25 years in prison today by a Florida judge following his conviction in October of one count of sexual battery on a minor.
Circuit Judge Meredith Charbula, who presided over Payne’s three-day trial, also sentenced him to 10 years of sex offender probation with a designation as a sexual predator, which calls for specific requirements upon his release from prison including GPS monitoring.
Assistant State Attorney Jaclyn Blair, one of the prosecutors, noted to the court that she had previously indicated the state would request that Payne serve a life sentence, the maximum penalty for his crime. She said, however, pursuant to the victim’s wishes, that she would only ask for a 25-year prison sentence, followed by sex offender probation for five years.
Attorney Christopher Carson, representing Payne, noted the sentencing guidelines call for Payne to serve 19.75 years in prison. He pointed out Payne is now a convicted felon who must register as a sex offender, suggesting both realities are “incredibly significant life-changing penalties.” He asked the court to consider a sentence that is below the 19.75 years prescribed by the guidelines.
“I did not put an exact number on what it is that I’m asking, because it’s so incredibly difficult to pin down what number between zero and 20 years is appropriate,” Carson said. “I’ve just gotten to a point where I don't even really try to do that, but I do believe that, based on the mitigation, a significant downward departure actually would meet the ends of justice in this case, and that is what we’re asking the court to do here today.”
Payne’s conviction, handed down October 22, 2025 in Jacksonville by a six-person jury in the Circuit Court of the Fourth Judicial Circuit in and for Duval County, came after about three hours of deliberation.
READ MORE: Florida jury convicts former Senator Steven Payne Sr. in sexual battery case involving a minor
Payne, 59, was found guilty of sexually battering Steffi Emilien with a vibrator between August 1, 2018, and February 27, 2019, while she was 17, at his sister’s house in Florida.
Payne was described by the prosecution during trial as a father figure to Emilien, who moved to St. John from her home country of St. Lucia and performed in a band that Payne managed called VI Avengerz Band. When her original living situation on St. John ended, she moved in with Payne’s girlfriend. She moved to Florida after the hurricanes of 2017.
Emilien, while reading her victim impact statement at sentencing virtually from St. Lucia, described experiencing severe and ongoing emotional and psychological distress following her sexual battery.
“I have always loved people and wanted to show kindness since I was a child, but now it feels pointless,” she said “I see the world as a place filled with predators, people who only care about themselves. I constantly feel like I’m not good enough for anyone, including myself.”
Emilien discussed struggling with anxiety, insomnia, dissociation, isolation, suicidal thoughts, and persistent fear for her safety — often feeling as though someone is following or planning to harm her so she carries a knife for protection. She said she has struggled to find stable work, noting her options are limited to low-paying jobs without a college degree. She said she would like to see a therapist but cannot afford it.
“Because of what Mr. Payne did to me and then sending me back home, I feel I have lost all the progress I hope to make in life,” she said, holding back tears. “I am now 1,000 steps backwards. The stress was so intense, I began bleeding uncontrollably. I needed three blood transfusions.”
Payne, while reading a statement, recounted a lifelong commitment to serving others, guided by his religious faith and his mother’s teachings. His statement focused on his personal history and community contributions, but it did not include an admission of wrongdoing, an apology to the victim, or any explicit expression of remorse.
After delaying college to save his high school’s music program, Payne noted that he earned a degree in music education and dedicated his career to helping at-risk youth. Disturbed by violence and instability in public schools, he discussed that he created multiple structured music, mentoring, and prevention programs that significantly reduced fighting, improved academic performance, and redirected hundreds of troubled students toward productive futures. Later, as a police officer, he said he founded the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Program, which he noted became one of the largest youth intervention initiatives in the territory and Caribbean region, helping steer youth away from gang involvement and toward careers and education.
Payne also described extensive community service over three decades: rebuilding a damaged youth center, leading rescue efforts following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, organizing large-scale food and generator donations, personally distributing aid, financially assisting families in need, refurbishing instruments for students, starting youth sports teams, and advocating summer employment for young people. As a senator, he said he pushed for disaster preparedness, education reform through magnet schools, improved health care partnerships, job training programs, and emergency housing support. During COVID-19, he said he coordinated food and supply distribution to ensure senior citizens were cared for during lockdowns.
Payne began addressing specific testimony presented at trial, asserting details from the victim’s testimony that differed from testimony provided by his sister — Lauren Harris. The judge, Charbula, cut him off, indicating that she would not reconsider the evidence. She told him he could continue with his statement, but she would not consider that part of it when imposing sentencing.
“I’m not going to cut you off or prevent you from saying what you wish to say to me,” she said. “I just want to make clear that this is not the time to argue the sufficiency of the evidence or why you believe you are wrongly convicted based on the evidence, because the jury has spoken.”
Payne declined to continue reading his statement.
The court also heard virtually from four character witnesses who spoke on behalf of Payne — Denise Lewis, who worked with Payne in the area of juvenile delinquency prevention; Ann Swan, a childhood friend who reconnected with Payne in adulthood when he joined her church; Cecil Roberts, who played music with Payne since childhood in various bands; and Bevis Dowell, who has known Payne for 20 years.
During Payne’s trial, prosecutors detailed a pattern of abuse that included two earlier incidents — a time on St. John when Payne allegedly asked Emilien to sit on his lap before he started kissing her, and a time in Florida after the 2017 hurricanes when Payne took Emilien to an amusement park and allegedly forced her to massage him and shower with him in a hotel room.
Besides Emilien, a second woman, Chezni Jones, also testified during the trial. Jones described a 2005 incident in which Payne, her mentor in the Virgin Islands Police Department, allegedly tried to force her to inappropriately touch him while demonstrating defensive tactics at a beach before she entered the police academy. She further alleged that Payne grabbed her and tore her underwear before she managed to escape.
Additionally, Dene Dessuit, a former staffer who had previously filed a sexual harassment complaint against Payne resulting in his expulsion from the Legislature in 2022, attended court to support Emilien during the trial. Dessuit also filed a civil lawsuit in 2024 against Payne in Virgin Islands Superior Court alleging assault and false imprisonment that remains pending.
READ MORE: Former-Sen. Payne staffer files civil lawsuit; includes Legislature, Sen. Frett-Gregory in suit
Jones and Dessuit both logged onto the virtual feed to observe Payne’s sentencing. After the judge sentenced him, Jones held up her smartphone, which displayed the word “justice.”
During Payne’s trial, the court allowed the prosecution to introduce evidence of Payne’s alleged prior misconduct involving Emilien and Jones under the state’s Williams Rule. The court, however, ruled against allowing the introduction of evidence detailed in Dessuit’s lawsuit.
After Payne’s conviction, Carson filed a two-page motion for a new trial on October 27, 2025. He noted the verdict was contrary to the law and the weight of the evidence, and the state’s evidence was insufficient to warrant a conviction and did not rule out all reasonable hypotheses of innocence. He further noted the court erred three times — in denying Payne’s pretrial motions to exclude the Williams Rule evidence that was presented by the prosecution, in denying Payne’s objections to the state’s peremptory challenges of jurors based upon race, and in overruling Payne’s attempt to elicit testimony from the victim regarding separate allegations of molestation as a prior inconsistent statement. Charbula denied the motion on November 13, 2025.
Payne’s sentencing was originally set for January 21. Carson filed a two-page motion on January 15 to continue sentencing, noting the defense expected to present significant mitigating evidence at sentencing and required more time to coordinate with witnesses and gather additional character evidence. Charbula granted the motion on January 21.
Payne subsequently filed a pro se motion on February 6 for a new trial, or to set the matter for an evidentiary hearing, as well as to stay sentencing pending resolution of the motion. Payne acknowledged he was still represented by counsel but requested an exception to the state’s rule that does not allow hybrid representation to present newly discovered evidentiary exculpatory evidence affecting the validity of the verdict and his liberty interest. Charbula filed an order on February 10 striking Payne’s pro se motion, noting a defendant may not file motions pro se while represented by counsel, and that the motion failed to show that it was adopted by Payne’s counsel.
