U.S. Virgin Islands

How does state law define child abuse and neglect for reporting purposes?

• Mandated reporters must report abuse, sexual abuse and neglect as defined by U.S. Virgin Islands statute 2502 of Title 5 and legal guidance interpreting the statute.
  • “Abuse” means any physical or mental injury inflicted on a child, other than by accidental means, by those responsible for the care and maintenance of the child, which injury causes or creates a substantial risk of death, serious or protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of physical or emotional health or loss or protracted impairment of the function of any bodily organ. “Abuse” includes the sexual abuse of a child, as defined by law, or the sexual exploitation, including the prostituting of a child and the photographing or other depiction of a child for pornographic purposes, or a persistent course of sexual conduct that causes a child's health or welfare to be harmed or threatened.
  • “Neglect” means the failure by those responsible for the care and maintenance of the child to provide the necessary support, maintenance, education as required by law; and medical or mental health care, to the extent that the child's health or welfare is harmed or threatened thereby. It shall also mean an abandoned child as defined in this chapter.

Are child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, statutory rape, incest, intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation and/or trafficking of a minor reportable as child abuse or neglect and if so, how are they defined and what is reportable?

For the most current definitions of these terms, refer to the U.S. Virgin Islands Code on the Lexis website.