Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A married man from Samoa was arrested by police two months ago after allegations arose that he sexually assaulted his 16-year-old niece who lives in the same house as the defendant.

The victim along with a relative made the report to police after the alleged incident took place.

Samoa News is withholding names of parties involved in this case to protect the identity of the victim.

The defendant, a 40-year-old father of four children, is being charged with 6 criminal counts that include 2 counts of sodomy; 2 counts of 1st degree sexual abuse, all class B felonies, punishable by imprisonment from 5 to 15 years; and 2 counts of 3rd degree assault, both class C misdemeanors, punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, and a fine of up to $300, or both.

The defendant made his initial appearance last month where the court established a $35,000 surety bond for his release.

If he posts his bond, the court orders that the defendant is not to have direct or indirect contact with the victim or government witnesses; to surrender his travel documents to the government attorney, and he is not leave or attempt to leave the territory without a written order of the court.

The defendant refused to sign the copy of his arrest warrant that was attached to the affidavit to notify the court that he had received the copy of the arrest warrant and the government’s affidavit.

THE ALLEGATIONS

The government claims that on Sept. 16, 2021 the victim (who is named in the affidavit as ‘VS’, and her sister walked into the Central Police Station and reported that the defendant allegedly sexually assaulted VS in Malaeimi.

A detective from the DPS Criminal Investigation Bureau (CID) was assigned to investigate the matter. The victim was interviewed by two CID detectives.

It appeared from the government’s case that the defendant and the victim, who are both from Samoa lived in the same house in a village on the West side.

The victim told investigators that on Apr. 24, 2021 around 4:50a.m, the defendant woke her up (victim) to prepare breakfast for their 68-year-old uncle and do the ironing for the victim’s school uniforms and the defendant’s clothes. While the victim was preparing breakfast for the family, the defendant came to her and allegedly hugged her from behind and kissed her neck.

While kissing the victim’s neck, the defendant touched her inappropriately and pulled her body tight to his body. The victim told investigators that she could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from the defendant’s breath when he stood behind her.

The victim walked away and told the defendant to stop his stupid actions, but the defendant laughed and told the victim that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Immediately after this alleged incident, the victim reported it to her eldest sister and her aunt what had allegedly happened and the sister in turn reported it to their mother, who is in Samoa. The victim’s mother told her to return to Samoa, if it happened again. The victim’s mother also called the defendant from Samoa and scolded him for sexually abusing her daughter and the defendant immediately apologized to the victim’s mother on the phone and promised her that nothing would happen again.

Five days after the first alleged incident another alleged incident happened at the same house where the defendant and the victim lived.

The victim further reported to police in her statement that on Apr. 29, 2021, she did not go to school because she had completed her exams and she was instructed by her elder sister to stay behind and prepare food for their elderly aunt. She then asked her sister to give her $20 to buy something for the aunt’s breakfast.

Before the defendant left the house for work, he knew that his niece was not going to school.

Around 9:30a.m, the defendant came back home and told the victim that he’s not feeling good and he wanted to stay home and help her cook food for their aunt.

The 68-year-old aunt lives in a separate house located behind the house where both the victim and the defendant live.

The defendant went to his room and got in bed while the victim was lying on the couch in the living room watching TV and sometimes walking around the house doing her clean up.

The victim told investigators while she was bending down cleaning the floor in the kitchen, she was shocked when she felt someone touching her inappropriately from behind. She immediately stood up and looked around and saw the defendant standing behind her, laughing.

The victim scolded the defendant, telling him to get out of the house, however the defendant was laughing and told the victim to come with him inside his room so that he can prove everything to her. The victim stopped cleaning the floor and walked into her room before she decided to go to the living room to watch TV.

While lying on the couch in the living room, the defendant came and sat down behind her. He allegedly tickled her and started kissing her but she slapped him and told him to stop. She then stood up, walked inside her room and locked the door.

The defendant used a butter knife to open the door and made his way inside her room and found the victim lying on her bed. The defendant then held her hands and allegedly removed a thin wrap that was the only clothing she had over her chest.

She struggled but he was too strong for her to get away from him. The victim told the defendant that she was scared, but the defendant told her that there was nothing to be scared about. He told also told the victim to relax and not to move and he was going to make her feel better.

The victim told investigators that she was really scared and told the defendant to stop what he was doing, but the defendant continued to kiss her and touch her inappropriately, — and despite her crying and continuing to ask him to stop he continued to act inappropriately, including undressing her.

When the defendant finally stopped, he then asked the victim for her forgiveness. He also gave the victim $50 for her school fare and lunch. It was after this incident when the victim’s sister kicked the defendant out of the house. The defendant left the house and went to live with a friend in the Tafuna area.

On the following day, the victim was examined by a doctor at the LBJ Hospital, and a sexual assault report was completed.

The defendant was arrested from his friend’s house in Tafuna pursuant to an arrest warrant.

During an interview with police, the defendant strongly denied all the allegations against him after he was Mirandized. However, after investigators informed him about the victim’s statement, the defendant then told investigators that he wanted to tell his side of the story.

According to the defendant’s statement, it all started at the beginning of 2020 when the victim came into his room and asked him if she could borrow money from him to send to her mother in Samoa, and she told him she would do anything for him in return.

The defendant gave money to the victim but at the same time he was confused on what things the victim would do for him. Days went by and the victim continued to borrow money from the defendant to send to her mother and family in Samoa.

However, according to the defendant’s statement to investigators, it was the beginning of this year when the victim approached him and asked if they could start a relationship. The defendant said he refused but blamed the victim for continuing to come to him.

The defendant further stated to investigators that on the day of the alleged incident, they had a conversation, and started kissing. The defendant admitted going to the victim’s bedroom where he performed more sexual acts on her. He further told police that the victim consented to the encounter.

The victim’s mother is the defendant’s cousin.