Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On May 14, 2026, an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint was filed in the District Court for a 60-year-old man for multiple felony charges stemming from allegations of sexual abuse, physical assault and property damage from an incident that was reported on January 23, 2026.

At the time of the filing, a warrant was requested for Tuluaasaga Tautala, which was granted. Upon his arrest, he was to be held without bail.

The defendant was later charged, according to the criminal complaint with:

Count 1: Rape (DV), a class B felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not to exceed 15 years and a fine of not less than $150;

Count 2: Deviate Sexual Assault (DV), a class C felony punishable b y a term of imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine not to exceed $5,000 but not less than $150;

Count 3: Sexual Abuse in the First Degree (DV), a class D felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, and a fine not to exceed $5,000 but not less than $150;

Count 4: Incest (DV), a class D felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, and a fine not to exceed $5,000 but not less than $150;

Count 5: Assault in the Third Degree (DV), a class A misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed one year and a fine not to exceed $1,000 or both;

Count 6: Private Peace Disturbance (DV), a class C misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than 15 days and a fine not to exceed $300 but not less than $150 or both; and,

Count 7: Property Damage in the Second Degree (DV), a class A misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed one year and a fine not to exceed $1,000 or both.

According to the affidavit in support of the Criminal Complaint, the allegations of sexual assault, physical assault and property damage were first brought to the attention of the police on or about January 24, 2026, in a complaint made by family member, who identified the alleged perpetrator as the victim’s father.

The defendant, later identified as Tuluaasaga Tautala, is accused of subjecting his daughter to repeated sexual abuse while she was living with him in American Samoa. Investigators allege that the abuse occurred over an extended period and involved threats and intimidation designed to prevent the victim from reporting the incidents.

As part of the investigation, police interviewed Tautala, the victim, a friend, and relatives.

THE VICTIM

The court affidavit states that according to the victim, she moved to the territory, from Samoa, in May 15, 2025 to live with the suspect, and they apparently shared a bedroom in the house belonging to the suspect’s cousin.

Based on written and oral statements from the victim, during interviews conducted on January 24 and 28, 2026, the victim disclosed that she has been subjected to ongoing abuse from the date she arrived in American Samoa by the suspect, who threatened to beat her or to send her back to Samoa.

The sexual abuse allegedly happened in the bedroom, and according to the victim occurred too many times for her to count and the suspect was under the influence of alcohol at all those times.

The victim remembered that the first incident occurred on the day she arrived in the territory around 11pm when she was sleeping, and the suspect woke her up and made certain demands.

She stated that she asked Tautala, “How can you do this to me, I am your daughter?”

He replied, “Shut your mouth, I am the boss of you. I brought you here.”

The victim said she asked him to stop multiple times, but he proceeded to overpower her and allegedly commit sexual acts without her consent. Tautala then left the room.

The following day, the victim confronted the defendant about what happened but Tau just laughed at her and told her not to tell anyone.

The victim stated she eventually told her uncle (defendant’s brother) and other family members but no one believed her. She said she also told a friend (female).

The victim continued that she became pregnant around June 2025. She said she caused the loss of the baby in August, after the defendant told her to find someone at work to have a relationship with and blame her pregnancy on that person so no one would know that he had gotten her pregnant.

When the victim had learned she was pregnant, she says she ran away and with an aunt. She was there for two months before the defendant forced her back to live with him again where the sexual abuse continued.

Allegedly, it was the victim’s friendship with another individual (female) that led to the defendant physically assaulting her on Jan. 24, 2026. He demanded that she not have this friend and grabbed her phone, saying she spent too much time on the phone. When she tried to get it back, the suspect slapped her in the face and damaged the phone.

The victim believed that the assault was due to her being friends with someone, and the suspect did not want her to have friends that she could confide in about the sexual abuse.

As a result of this assault, according to the affidavit, the victim confided in a relative, which lead to the matter of sexual abuse and assault being reported to the police by the relative.

REPORTING RELATIVE

The reporting relative when interviewed by police stated that she only found out about the sexual abuse situation on Jan. 24, when the physical assault happened. She said she had suspected something inappropriate was going on, but was not sure until the victim actually told her about the issue.

The relative further told police that around the evening of Jan. 24, the suspect had come to her and insisted the victim be deported back to Samoa because the victim was a bad girl, claiming she stole her cousin’s clothes.

The relative also mentioned that a male cousin had witnessed the suspect sexually abusing the victim.

MALE RELATIVE

Police interviewed the male cousin, on February 3, 2026, at his cousin’s house, where he also lives. He explained and described the incident that led to his witnessing the sexual abuse. He further noted that the victim and the suspect shared a room and slept on the same bed.

VICTIM’S FRIEND

The victim’s friend was interviewed on Jan. 28, 2026. She told police that she met the victim at work and they became friends around December 2025, when the victim came to her needing someone to talk to. The victim opened up to her about the sexual abuse in Jan. 2026, and also told her about her pregnancy due to the sexual abuse and how she caused the loss of the baby in or around August 2025.

SUSPECT

Tautala, the suspect and father of the victim, was interviewed at the Tafuna Police Substation, on Jan. 24. He was Mirandized prior to the interview, and agreed to make a statement.

The suspect claimed that on Jan. 24, he was angry with the victim because she spent too much time on her phone and did not do her chores around the house. He spoke to the victim about disobeying his rules, and mentioned that he disagreed with the victim having a relationship with a “tom-boy [sic]” instead of finding a man to be with from work.

He admitted to investigators that he damaged the victim's cellphone during an argument. However, he denied ever laying his hands on the victim — including slapping her and sexually abusing her.

Specific to the allegation of sexual abuse, Tautala stated, “I swear to God, nothing like that happened between me and my daughter.”

He went on to claim that she was liar and that the victim has lied about something similar with another family member.

After reviewing witness statements and evidence collected during the investigation, law enforcement officials concluded there was probable cause to proceed with criminal charges against the defendant.

The affidavit was filed in the District Court on May 14, 2026 in support of the criminal complaint.

The case is now before the court, where prosecutors are expected to pursue the charges outlined in the criminal complaint.

The defendant is identified as a 60-year-old citizen of Samoa.

As with all criminal cases, the allegations outlined in court filings remain accusations at this stage, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

[Editor’s Note: An affidavit is a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation for use as evidence in court. It is not a court decision.]