Attempted rape charge lodged after alleged victim's aunt calls the cops

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man was arrested last month pursuant to an arrest warrant on the allegation that he attempted to rape a 16-year-old girl at her residence two months prior.

The man made his initial appearance in District Court last month.

(Samoa News has chosen not to release the name of the defendant or the village in which the attempted rape occurred to protect the victim.)

According to the government’s case, it was on July. 30, 2022 when the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a distress phone call from a woman stating that her 16-year-old niece was allegedly raped and she requested police assistance.

Several police officers responded to the call and the reporter briefed officers about what happened. The reporter, along with the victim were both transported to the TPS for investigation before officers proceeded to the defendant’s house in an effort to locate him.

When questioned by police, the victim’s aunt stated that she was on her way home from the church prayer meeting when she saw her 16-year-old niece (victim) crying in front of her house. She asked her niece about what had happened and she told her about the incident and what the defendant had done to her.

The aunt immediately contacted the TPS and informed them about the alleged incident.

According to the victim, she was sleeping on the cough in the living room when she felt someone trying to pull her pants down. She immediately woke up and saw the defendant standing beside her touching her body. The victim told police that when she woke up, the defendant whispered to her not to make any noises. The defendant is a family member and lives next door.

The government alleges that the defendant tried to shut the victim up and forcefully touched her inappropriately — leaving a mark on the area he touched.

The victim then grabbed her laptop that was behind her and struck the defendant’s face and that was when she escaped from him and ran outside, where she broke down and cried.

When officers arrived at the defendant’s residence they observed a female individual in the defendant’s house. She was later identified as the defendant’s wife.

The defendant’s wife informed officers that the defendant was in the house but he was sleeping. Officers asked if they could speak to him and the wife said yes.

Officers went into the defendant’s room, woke him up and apprehended him before transporting him and his wife to the TPS for questioning.

After Mirandizing the defendant, he made a statement about the incident.

Without police notifying him of the alleged incident, the defendant stated that the victim is like a daughter and he did not do anything bad to her.

He told officers that he was at the victim’s residence to make sure the victim and her young siblings are doing okay while their aunt was away from home.

On the date the incident is alleged to have happened, the defendant said he saw a pickup truck approaching the victim’s residence and that’s when he went to the victim’s house to check on her and her young siblings.

Officers observed a cut on the defendant’s right eye and asked him what happened to his right eye. The defendant said he fell inside the shower and hit his right eye on the step.

Officers asked the defendant again if it was from him falling or from the laptop that the victim allegedly used to strike him. The defendant looked nervous and replied that it was from the fall.

While interviewing the defendant, he was asked if he was under the influence of alcohol and he confessed that he has been drinking since the night before.

The defendant had a strong odor of alcohol emitting from his breath and body. He was later transported to the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) where he was booked and confined to await the next sitting of the court.

The defendant is charged with one count of 1st-degree burglary, one count of attempted rape and one count of 1st-degree sexual abuse, all felonies; along with one count of trespass and one count of private peace disturbance, both misdemeanors.

Bail is set at $20,000.