Judge Hears Allegations Against Janelle Sarauw
A Broward County, Florida judge heard competing domestic‑violence claims between former USVI senator Janelle K. Sarauw and her former partner, Zikeyraw Veretta Guishard. The hearing continues after the judge found the petitioner established a prima facie case and ordered additional testimony and cross‑examination.
A Florida court heard testimony this week in a contested domestic‑violence case involving former United States Virgin Islands senator and current congressional candidate Janelle K. Janelle Sarauw, is before Judge Michael G. Kaplan in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County.
Petitioner Guishard is seeking a final injunction for protection against domestic violence; Sarauw has denied the allegations and testified that Guishard was the aggressor in their relationship. Testimony presented sharply different accounts of a long, volatile relationship that both women described as marked by repeated breakups and reconciliations.
Guishard, who said the two reconnected years after Sarauw was her high‑school history teacher, detailed a series of incidents she says justify the injunction, including an episode on May 19, 2024 when she testified Sarauw struck her with a dog leash. Photographs of bruising and lacerations were entered into evidence, and Guishard described other incidents in October 2024, a Carnival‑related episode in spring 2025, a Mother’s Day 2025 incident involving high‑speed driving, and a December 2025 dispute after a church service.
Sarauw gave a contrasting account, testifying that Guishard was jealous, physically aggressive and prone to escalating disputes. Sarauw said she acted in self‑defense at times, denied several of Guishard’s versions of events, and said she sent a private intimate video to Guishard while deleting other images from her phone.
Sarauw also said Guishard had a firearm and disputed claims about vehicle speed and other details. A minor witness testified about seeing physical confrontations and described incidents the court heard, but the child’s name and identifying details were withheld because of age. Other witnesses testified about alleged attempts to influence the petitioner to drop the case; Guishard said family and friends were told the matter could affect her nursing license.
Sarauw denied directing anyone to harass Guishard and said mutual friends felt caught in the middle. After hearing arguments, Judge Kaplan denied a defense motion to dismiss, finding Guishard had made a prima facie showing sufficient to proceed. Sarauw began her own testimony but was not finished when the court recessed.
The judge ordered the parties to return for continued testimony and cross‑examination. The matter is being heard in public court in Florida and has drawn attention because Sarauw served in the USVI Legislature from 2017 to 2023 and is a candidate in the August Democratic primary for Delegate to Congress.
Reporting is based on court proceedings and coverage by Virgin Islands News Online.
Primary source: VINO