Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A local boxer accused of assaulting two young boys with a tree branch is now in custody after he was arrested by police last month.

Paofe Seeti appeared in Court last month for his initial appearance.

He is charged with two counts of 2nd-degree assault and two counts of abuse of a child, all class D felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

Bail is set at $10,000.

THE CASE

According to the government’s case, it was on the afternoon of May 30, 2022 around 3:30 pm when an elderly man from Ottoville contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) requesting police assistance for both of his grandsons — an 8-year old and an 11-year old — who were allegedly assaulted by their neighbor with a tree branch.

The neighbor was later identified as Paofe Seeti, the defendant in this case.

Several police officers responded to the call and met up with the grandfather who reported the matter at his residence in Ottoville, along with his two grandsons, A.T and L. T.

The grandfather briefed officers about the matter. According to the grandfather, he was at the house when his two grandsons came running to their residence and told him of what had happened at Seeti’s house.

A.T sustained a scratch near his left eye causing redness in his eye and L.T had a bruise on his right wrist. Both minors were also interviewed at their residence after officers spoke with their grandfather.

According to A.T’s verbal statement, while they — his brother and cousins — were playing outside Seeti’s house, they were shocked when Seeti came from behind them and yelled at them to remove themselves from in front of his porch. However, A.T and his brother, L.T froze while two of their cousins (who are also minors) went running to their house.

A.T told officers that Seeti approached him and his brother L.T with a tree branch and first struck L.T with the branch and later swung at A.T where it hit him in the face causing a scratch on his left eye.

Seeti was immediately apprehended at the scene where he was placed inside a police unit and later transported to the TPS where he was Mirandized and agreed to speak to investigators about the alleged incident.

According to Seeti, he stated that he had just arrived home from work where he saw A.T and L.T along with two other minors playing outside the front porch of his house and littering. Seeti stated that he was really upset and called out to them, however, A.T and L.T stood by while the other two minors ran away.

Seeti stated that he then grabbed a tree branch and swung it at L.T and it hit him on this right wrist. He also swung at A.T with the branch, which hit him on his left eye. Seeti went on to say that he only wanted to scare them off but he could not hold his anger that caused him to assault both minors.