Steven Payne Begins Florida Prison Intake After 25-Year Sentence in Minor Sexual Battery Case

Steven Payne, the former at-large senator who was expelled from the 34th Legislature of the Virgin Islands following multiple sexual harassment allegations, is now undergoing the intake process with the Florida Department of Corrections after receiving a 25-year sentence last month for sexual battery on a minor.

The sentence was handed down in Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit Court after a jury found Payne guilty of sexually assaulting Steffi Emilien when she was 17 years old. The conviction, secured last year, stemmed from conduct that took place between August 1, 2018, and February 27, 2019, at his sister’s home in Jacksonville, Florida.

Ms. Emilien was one of two women whose allegations against Payne were reported by the Consortium after news emerged that the Senate was conducting an investigation into the sexual harassment of a female staffer.

In an exclusive interview with the Consortium, Ms. Emilien described being groomed as a vulnerable teenager by someone she believed to be a father figure before being moved to Florida and then assaulted.