Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man convicted of assault was sentenced by the High Court to 5 years probation and is now in custody after being arrested last month and accused of abusing his 4-year-old nephew.

During the arrest, cops discovered a glass pipe containing white crystalline substance in his pant’s pocket.

The man, Kalolo Timo made his initial appearance in District Court last month. He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth), an unclassified felony, punishable for a term of imprisonment from five to ten years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both; and one count of abuse of a child involving domestic violence, a class D felony, punishable by term of imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Bail is set at $10,000.

THE CASE

On Oct. 20, 2021 late afternoon, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a phone call from a woman reporting her brother (defendant) allegedly assaulted her 4-year-old son. Several police officers responded to the call and met with the reporter in front of her residence.

The woman told officers that her brother (defendant) was inside the house. The defendant walked out of the house and officers apprehended him and placed him inside a police unit and later transported him to the TPS for further investigation.

Officers observed an abrasion and bruises on the left facial area of the victim. Both the victim and his mother were also transported to the TPS for questioning regarding the matter. EMS was contacted regarding the victim’s injuries.

The victim’s mother, along with other family members were interviewed by investigators regarding the incident.

According to the victim’s mother, she was at the laundromat about ten minutes when her phone rang; it was her older daughter saying that she has to come home to take T.P (victim) to the hospital because Timo (defendant) slapped and kicked him (victim) in the face causing injuries to the victim’s facial area.

The victim’s mother arrived home in two minutes and saw her son (victim) crying and she observed swollen and red marks on her son’s facial area, and that’s when she contacted police. She stated to investigators that her brother (defendant) abuses her kids often and she had warned him about this several times.

Investigators also interviewed the victim’s sister regarding this matter in the presence of her mother. She told investigators that she witnessed Timo abusing her little brother (victim), and she was scared so she called her mother to take her brother to the hospital.

Timo was Mirandized upon arrival at the TPS to which he replied he understood and waived his rights.

According to the defendant, he disciplined his nephew after he woke him up twice — the first time he carried the nephew to his mother, however the second time he was awoken, he slapped his nephew two times on the right cheek and one time on the left cheek and he also kicked his nephew in the face while his niece (the victim’s sister) was watching.

The defendant further stated to investigators that he tried his best to teach his sister’s children how to behave themselves, however, he thinks he over reacted and as a result, he disciplined his nephew while he was angry.

The defendant was booked and later transported to the Tafuna Correctional Facility (TCF) where he was detained awaiting the next sitting of court.