Govt lodges sex charges in two separate cases

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Two men appeared in Court last month after being arrested on sex charges against minors. One is a 54-year-old man, who is an uncle of the victim, while the second one is a 38-year-old man whom officers arrested from his residence and later discovered illegal drugs in his possession.

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

Both men made their initial appearances in court last month and they were charged separately.

CASE AGAINST THE 54-YEAR-OLD UNCLE

The 54-year-old man accused of sexually abusing his 16-year-old niece was arrested by police last month after the victim’s 19-year-old sister saw the defendant’s alleged action and immediately alerted her mother about what happened.

The victim’s sister told her mother that this is not the first time the defendant committed these acts towards the victim.

[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 his initial appearance, the defendant waived his right 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 Aug. 20, 2022.

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

The defendant told investigators that his family is trying to set him up in an effort to get rid of him because there is an ongoing disagreement in their family about land and other properties.

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. (There was no explanation in the investigation report as to what that statement means or is meant to prove or disprove.)

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, when the 19-year-old victim’s sister called her and reported that the victim was allegedly sexually assaulted by their uncle (defendant).

The sister told her mother 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 while the victim was on her bed.

After interviewing the victim and her mother, investigators then proceeded to the defendant’s home where upon arrival, according to investigators, they informed the defendant about the allegations involving the 16-year-old victim. The defendant is alleged to have then cried and repeatedly swore at himself.

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. Follow-up questions brought to light that the defendant knew what the victim was wearing on the night of the incident and he also told investigators how he knew.

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 underlying facts of the case were that the defendant touched a 24-year-old female inappropriately during a family party. The defendant and the victim are also related.

CASE AGAINST THE 38-YEAR-OLD

Saolotoga Misileti 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 (meth), a felony.

Bail is set at $25,000.

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

THE ALLEGATION

The government alleges that this matter was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) on May. 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, Misileti had been dating the victim for over 6 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 January, Misileti messaged the victim through social media asking her to name a day to go out with him. Also on the same day, Misileti messaged the victim and told her that he wanted to have sex with her.

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

On Feb. 12 at about 7a.m, the victim met with Misileti and rode a bus to the Tafuna area and they spent the whole morning talking and getting to know each other. They were walking around when they met a male 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 Misileti had sexual intercourse with the victim twice before they caught the bus and went home at about 3p.m.

Before Misileti was transported to the TPS, he was patted down for weapons or illegal drugs. During the body search, cops discovered a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance inside his pocket.

When questioned about the glass pipe, Misileti admitted that the glass pipe belonged to him.