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Man held on sex charges makes initial appearance in District Court

American Samoa District Court building
Joyetter@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man from Samoa is being held on bail of $15,000 over alleged sexual assault charges. Tala Laloata is charged with sodomy, sexual abuse first degree and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

The defendant made his initial appearance in the District Court yesterday and is represented by the public defender’s office.

According to the government’s case, around March last year this matter was referred to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Department of Public Safety regarding Laloata’s involvement with a15-year old female.

The victim's mother, told police that one Sunday her daughter did not attend church and she became suspicious and that people said her daughter was seen with the man at the Fagatogo village pavilion, when she was supposed to be at church.

The girl told police that the defendant knew all along she was 15-years old and attends high school and they first met at a party held at her house around the holidays.

Yet he asked her to be his girlfriend and she agreed, court documents say.

Furthermore she said on February 2, 2023 they met and the defendant was under the influence of alcohol, where he kissed her and asked her to skip school, she said. It’s alleged that on March 5, 2023 the victim went to the store and met up with the defendant.

They met at the Fagatogo Pavilion where they kissed. Then the defendant asked the girl to go behind a container nearby, she refused at first and that’s when the defendant got angry. So she yielded and they went behind the container, and it’s alleged this is where the defendant performed sexual acts on her.

The defendant, on the other hand, told the police in January he was at the store and the victim walked up to him and kissed him.

However he did not know her and that he was shocked that this girl came and kissed him out of nowhere.

In their second encounter, the girl approached him and kissed him again and then told him that she was 15-years old. 

The third encounter was on March 5, 2023 when he was walking to the pavilion and the victim followed him.

They were kissing at the restroom near the Pavilion and given there were many people walking around they moved to one of the containers nearby and not long after, the victim’s family arrived and asked for him to go to the police station in town.