Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On February 13, 2025, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) Captain assigned officers to investigate an alleged rape case regarding a minor in response to a call from an elementary school’s principal and a teacher, both alerting the authorities regarding the allegations.

The suspect was later charged with:

Count 1 & 7: Rape (DV), a class B felony punishable by a term of not less than five years and not to exceed 15 years;

Count 2 & 8: Sodomy, a class B felony punishable by a term of not less than five years and not to exceed 15 years;

Count 3 & 9: Sexual Abuse in the First Degree (DV), a class D felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine not to exceed $5,000 but not less than $150, or both;

Count 4 & 10: Endangering the Welfare of a Child (DV), a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of not more than one year, a fine of not more than $1,000 but not less than $150, or both;

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

Count 6: Felonious Restraint (DV), a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to seven years, a fine not to exceed $5,000. but not less than $150, or both; and,

Count 11: Assault in the Third Degree, a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both.

(Samoa News has withheld the names of those involved to protect the identity of the victim who is a minor in this case.)

There was no bail set for the defendant.

According to the court affidavit, on Feb. 13th, at about 6:40 p.m., TPS officers were briefed regarding the incident involving a minor who was fourteen years of age and an adult male who was 24 years old.

The officers were briefed by the TPS captain that on Wednesday, Feb. 12th, at around 5:30 p.m., the victim saw the suspect at the volleyball practice near a store. The suspect was calling to the victim to come to him. The victim did not answer the suspect or go to him because she was scared due to flashbacks of prior incidents where the suspect had sex with her and touched her inappropriately.

The victim then went home and told her mother about what the suspect did to her at the volleyball practice. She also told her mother about a prior incident where the suspect drove her to the baseball field and inappropriately touched her.

The victim’s mother told the victim to stay home from school the next day so they could talk with the suspect and his family about the incidents. However, on Thursday, Feb. 13th, the victim went to school where a teacher saw her crying.

The victim was asked by the teacher about why she was crying and she told the teacher about an incident that occurred in November 2024.

The victim told her teacher that she was walking home from the store and the suspect grabbed her hand and dragged her to the storage room near his residence. Once in the storage room, the suspect kissed her and then raped her. Based on the victim’s summary of the November 2024 incident, her teacher and the school principal contacted the TPS to report the incident.

The victim was interviewed at the station in the presence of her mother. The victim described the baseball field incident. She explained that around 6:00 p.m., she was walking home from soccer practice, when the suspect drove by and made a U-turn at the roundabout to pick her up. The victim stated that the suspect told her that he was going her way so she got into the car believing he was going to take her home. To her surprise, the suspect made a left turn into the elementary school and parked at the baseball field.

Moreover, the victim stated that the suspect locked the car doors and placed his hand on her inner thigh in which she pushed his hand away. When she noticed the suspect unlocked the doors, she opened her door and ran towards the elementary school cafeteria. She then fell and saw the suspect driving towards her and almost hit her before driving away. She walked home afterwards and never told anyone about the incident.

At around 7:45 pm., the suspect was interviewed at the TPS and also Mirandized in which he understood and agreed to make a statement.

The officers informed the suspect that he was being investigated for rape and sexual assault of a minor. The suspect stated that he did not recall anything regarding sexual acts with the victim and denied everything regarding the allegations.

When the officers continued to question the suspect, he then stated that he wanted to talk to one of the officers he knew. The other officer stepped out and contacted the Social Services and notified them about the minor involved so they could conduct their interview and to determine if it was safe for the child to return home with her mother.

Following the officer’s interview with the defendant, the other officer was notified regarding the interview and provided him with the suspect’s written statement.

Thereafter, the interview continued where the suspect admitted to having sex with the minor twice. The first incident that the suspect described matched the victim’s statement about the November 2024 incident. The only difference was the year. The suspect claimed the incident occurred in 2023 whereas the victim stated that it was last year, in 2024.

The officers were unable to follow up with the suspect to clarify this discrepancy.

According to the suspect, the victim’s family sent her to him and his brother to borrow cigarettes. The suspect could not recall the exact date, but he believed that it was between October and November 2023 around 7:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. The suspect explained that he hung out with the victim at his house for a while and then started playing chase. The suspect claimed that the next thing he knew was he was with the victim inside an abandoned room near his residence. He then fell onto the victim and he started kissing her and they had sexual intercourse. The suspect also told the victim not to tell anyone.

Furthermore, the suspect admitted to the second incident of sexual intercourse with the victim happened about a week after the first incident. It was around 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. when the victim came again to borrow cigarettes from him. They went to the same storage room near the suspect’s house where the victim walked by herself into the room while he followed behind. The suspect claimed they went there and had sexual intercourse for the second time.

Following the interview with the suspect, police officers contacted the victim’s mother and requested for her to return to the station with the victim for a follow up interview.

During the second Interview with the victim, authorities questioned the victim regarding the second incident which she did not mention during her initial interview. The victim was silent for a few moments and then began to cry. The victim recanted some of her prior statement, and stated that during the baseball field incident the suspect did not drive his vehicle towards her. Also, in the November 2024 incident, the suspect did not grab her hand and drag her to the storage room or hold her hands against the floor.

Moreover, the victim confirmed that during the second incident, she had sexual intercourse with the suspect. She stated that they had sex several times every week and sometimes daily, starting the first week of August 2024.

At this point, the victim froze and was unable to provide more details about the numerous occasions of sexual intercourse with the suspect. The victim stated she was tired and requested some time to rest before continuing the interview.

The officers agreed and the victim was released in the care of her mother while the suspect left with his older brother.

On Feb. 14th, at about 11:00 a.m., the victim's mother walked into the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) in Fagatogo and continued the interview from the previous night.

The authorities requested permission from the victim’s mother to interview the victim alone whereas the request was granted. The victim provided a verbal and written statement stating that she and the suspect had sexual intercourse in the first week of August 2024. She also stated that during one of the incidents, she went with the suspect inside the storage room near the suspect’s home. She opened that door and walked inside the room as the defendant followed and locked the door from inside and they had sexual intercourse.

The victim claimed that she doesn’t recall the exact dates and times they had sexual intercourse. She was certain that it happened during night time at least twice a week from the first week of August 2024, until the last week of November 2024. All incidents of sexual intercourse occurred in the storage room near the suspect’s residence.

The defendant is identified as a 24-year-old U.S National.