Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Two men appeared in District Court last month after being arrested on sex charges against minors. One is a 50-year-old man, an uncle of the victim, while the second one is a 29-year-old man, who officers arrested from a relative’s residence and later discovered illegal drugs in his possession.

The two victims are both 16-years-old according to the government’s cases.

Each man made their initial appearance in court last month.

CASE AGAINST THE 29-YEAR-OLD

Keneti Taulia is charged with one count of rape, a class B felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years nor more than fifteen years and one count of 1st degree sexual abuse, a class D felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. He’s also facing a single count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a felony.

Bail is set at $25,000.

During his initial appearance hearing, the court learned that Taulia has a valid immigration ID and was employed before he was arrested.

THE ALLEGATION

The government report notes that this matter was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) on Nov. 12 after being reported to authorities and several CID detectives were assigned to work together on the case.

Investigators conducted an interview with the victim who provided information regarding the alleged crime.

Investigators also picked up the defendant from his uncle’s residence and he was transported to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for questioning.

According to the government’s case, Taulia had been dating the victim for over 4 months and Taulia knew that the victim was a minor. Both the defendant and the victim go to the same church, and both are active in church functions and activities.

In the month of October, Taulia messaged the victim through social media asking her to go out with him. Also on the same day, Taulia messaged the victim and told her that he wanted to have sex with her.

For the whole month of October, Taulia kept telling the victim through messages that he wanted to have sex with her and that to pick a day for them to go out on a date.

On Nov. 12 at about 7a.m, the victim met with Taulia and rode a bus to the Tafuna area at the Lions Park and spent the whole morning talking and getting to know each other more. They decided to walk back down when they met a male individual in the area who directed them to a very secluded area where they hung out a little bit.

According to the government’s case, that’s when Taulia had sexual relations with the victim — twice — before they caught the bus and went home at about 3p.m

Before Taulia was transported to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS), he was patted down for weapons or illegal drugs; and during the body search, cops discovered a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance in his pocket.

When asked about the glass pipe, Taulia admitted that the glass pipe belonged to him and he bought it from a man in Vaitogi for $25 on the previous day.

CASE AGAINST THE 50-YEAR-OLD UNCLE

A 50-year-old man accused of sexually abusing his 16-year-old niece was arrested by police last month after the victim’s 17-year-old sister saw the defendant’s alleged action and immediately alerted her mother about what happened.

[Samoa News has chosen not to identify the defendant in this case to protect the identity of the minor victim.]

The government has filed two separate cases against the defendant.

In the first case, the defendant is charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, a felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than 10 years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both.

In the second case, the defendant is charged with one count of child molestation, a class A felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than ten years nor more than thirty years; one count of sodomy, a class B felony; and 3 counts of 1st degree sexual abuse, a class D felony.

The court established bond at $50,000.

During the initial appearance, the defendant waived his rights to a preliminary examination and the case was bound over to High Court for arraignment where he entered a not guilty plea to all the charges against him.

His pretrial conference in High Court is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2022.

The defendant told investigators that he only kissed the victim as a way of showing his love and affection for her, and strongly denied the accusation against him, saying that he loves his family and he never would do such a thing to his own blood.

During his arrest, police discovered two small stamp-sized baggies containing what appeared to be marijuana.

The defendant was arrested after the alleged incident was reported to police by the victim’s mother. The mother also took her daughter (victim) to the LBJ Hospital for a complete examination and, a report given to investigators revealed that everything was okay with the victim.

The subsequent investigation revealed that the mother was at her parents’ house while the victim and her other siblings were at home doing their homework and watching T.V. Around 8:20 p.m while the mother was not at home, the 17-year-old victim’s sister called her phone and reported that the victim was allegedly sexual assaulted by their uncle (defendant).

The sister told her mother on the phone that she went to check on the victim who was in her room doing her homework, however when she knocked on the door, she was shocked when she saw the defendant in the victim’s room. She also witnessed the defendant “doing nasty things” to the victim on the bed.

After interviewing the victim and her mother, investigators then proceeded to the defendant’s home in an effort to locate him. Upon arrival, according to investigators, they informed the defendant about the allegations involving the 16-year-old victim, after which he then cried and repeatedly swore at himself. He was also informed by investigators that he was not under arrest and was free to leave at any time.

The defendant strongly denied having any physical contact with the victim, but when he was told that there was an eyewitness who saw what happened, the defendant changed his story and admitted that he only kissed the victim’s belly button.

During follow-up questions about what the victim was wearing on the date of the alleged incident, the defendant provided a clear description, and also told investigators how he knew what the victim was wearing on that night.

It was then that investigators Mirandized the defendant and he stated that he understood and wanted to provide his side of what happened.

He admitted to investigators everything, stating that he kissed the victim inappropriately through her clothing and it was his way of showing love and affection for her.

BACKGROUND

In 2018, the defendant was sentenced to 12 months probation after being convicted of 3rd degree assault and trespass. The facts of the case revealed that the defendant touched a 24-year-old female inappropriately during a family party. The defendant and the victim are related.