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16-year-old turns in man who allegedly sexually abused her

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ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man was arrested on allegations that he sexually abused his girlfriend’s niece.

Etimani Alofagia made his initial appearance in District Court last month and bond has been set at $15,000.

He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana (pot), an unclassified felony, punishable by imprisonment between 5-10 years, a fine of up to $20,000 or both; along with one count of sodomy a class B felony punishable by imprisonment between 5-15 years, and one count of first degree sexual abuse, a class D felony, punishable by up to 5 years in jail, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

If Alofagia is able to post bond, he is ordered to remain law abiding, not leave or attempt to leave the territory, and he is not to make any direct or indirect contact with the government’s witnesses, including the victim and her family.

THE CASE

The government claims that on the morning of April 10, 2021, the victim, a 16-year-old, walked into the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report that her aunt’s boyfriend, Etimani Alofagia, inappropriately touched her at their Puapua home.

The victim told police that on the night of Apr. 9th she heard her aunt and Alofagia having a verbal argument regarding their relationship. The victim said she was sleeping in her room but was awakened by the argument.

A few moments later, the victim said her aunt entered her room to look for her shoes and later instructed her to lock her room and sleep. Thereafter, her aunt left the house, leaving her home alone with Alofagia who sat in the living room watching television.

The victim told police that Alofagia started calling her name, asking her to come hang out with him in the living room, but she didn’t respond; instead, she continued to lie in bed. The victim said she was surprised when she woke up and saw Alofagia laying on her bed, with his hand touching her inappropriately.

The victim said she sat up and tried to push Alofagia away and at the same time, she screamed; however, Alofagia was too strong and didn’t stop. However, the victim said she was finally able to push Alofagia away and walked out of the room into the living room. Alofagia allegedly followed the victim and tried to stop her from leaving the house. He tried to grab her hand and begged her to go back into the room.

The victim told police that she exited the house to go look for her aunt, but Alofagia followed her. The victim was able to locate her aunt, who was sitting outside of the house talking on the phone.

The victim said she asked her aunt why she had left her alone in the house with her boyfriend, before telling her what happened.

The girl said that while she was talking to her aunt, Alofagia arrived and tried to change the subject. The victim’s aunty confronted Alofagia about what her niece had told her, and Alofagia denied it all.

The victim also confronted Alofagia about what he did to her and Alofagia continued to deny any wrongdoing. The very next morning, the victim went to police to file her complaint.

The victim told police that this isn’t the first time Alofagia had done this to her.

According to her, two days before this alleged incident, she was surprised when Alofagia touched her shoulders and her butt in a sexual manner. She said Alofagia told her that he wanted to talk to her privately.

On a separate occasion on that same date, the victim said Alofagia touched her chest while she was sitting in the living room.

Police went looking for Alofagia at work but he was not there.

One week later, Alofagia was apprehended from his work place and transported to the TPS for further investigation.

Before he was transported to TPS, he was patted down and officers discovered a small stamp sized baggie containing green leafy substance inside Alofagia’s front pocket.

When questioned by police, Alofagia refused to make a statement.