High school student allegedly bullied at school after video goes viral

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On May 26, 2025, a minor accompanied by his grandmother walked into the Tafuna Police Substation and reported that he was allegedly assaulted multiple times by the school’s head coach, and that he feared for his life and was afraid to go back to school.

The suspect in this case was later charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Third Degree, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both imprisonment and fine;

Count 2: Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both; and,

Count 3: Public Peace Disturbance, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to $500,

The defendant’s bail was set at $2,000.

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

According to the court affidavit, on May 26th, at around 10:04 a.m., a minor (later identified as the victim) walked into the TPS accompanied by his grandmother and reported that he feared for his life. The victim further stated that he was afraid to return to his high school due to escalating bullying related to a video that had gone viral on social media showing him disrespecting a female teacher.

Authorities conducted an interview with the victim in the presence of his grandmother. According to the minor, the incident originated approximately four weeks ago when he disrespected a female teacher by mocking her and pretending to assault her by making threatening gestures. He stated that a fellow student recorded the incident and later uploaded the video to social media.

The victim claimed that he was shocked to discover the video had been posted by an unknown student using a fake account. The video quickly went viral, resulting in widespread online bullying with people leaving mean and cruel comments directed at him.

Moreover, on May 22, 2025, while on his way to his fourth period class, a student approached him and told him that the head coach (later identified as the suspect) wanted to see him in his classroom. The victim explained that he complied and proceeded to the suspect’s classroom. Upon entering, the victim said that the suspect instructed him to sit at his desk where he showed him the video that had gone viral and then told him to stand up.

The victim continued that when he stood up, the suspect asked “Do you like doing that to old people or women?” He replied “no” and the suspect told him that he was going to slap him.

The victim stated that the suspect proceeded to slap him in the face approximately 10 to 15 times while asking him, “Do you like doing that to girls?”

The suspect added, “Are you going to do that to your girlfriend?”

The suspect then punched him once below his ribcage and once in the chest.

The victim also reported that the suspect grabbed him by his hair and dragged him out of the classroom. He held him by the back of his neck and took him to the female teacher involved in the original incident. Upon arrival at the female teacher’s classroom, she informed the suspect that the issue had already been resolved by the school office.

The suspect instructed him to stand up, where they exited the room together. Once outside, another teacher yelled at the suspect telling him, “That’s enough!”.

The teacher approached him and asked what period he was supposed to be in and whether he wanted to go to his fourth period class. The victim told the teacher no and that he wanted to go home. In response, the teacher asked a senior student to escort him to the office.

When he got to the office, he told the school counselor he wanted to go home, expressing fear because the suspect had asked him to meet him again during the lunch period. The counselor told him that it was okay and they would go together to the suspect’s classroom.

However, during lunch the victim stated the counselor approached him and told him that he would have to go alone because she had already spoken with the suspect.

After finishing his lunch, he proceeded to the suspect’s classroom and found that he was not there. However, three junior students were in the classroom and one of them instructed him to enter the classroom and sit down. As he complied, the fellow student told him to puff out his cheek and place his hand on it and proceeded to slap him four times while telling the other students to record the incident on video. The victim stated that he felt humiliated and wanted to cry out for help.

The victim continued that at that time the suspect entered the classroom and wrote a statement on a piece of paper that read “ I respect women and elders.” The suspect instructed him to follow him outside. Once they got outside, the suspect told him to kneel down on the rocks in the middle of the school campus while holding the written note. The suspect also instructed another student to record a video of him while on his knees. The victim shared that he felt extremely sad and humiliated by the suspect’s actions especially as passing students laughed at him and took pictures of him kneeling on the rocks.

The victim also explained that the reason for his misbehavior towards the female teacher was that he was triggered when the teacher made fun of his father who had passed away. He stated that he gets angry when anyone mentions his father.

The victim’s grandmother also shared that she believes that the situation is unjust and expressed deep concern for her grandson. She stated she feels so bad for him and wants justice to be served. She also acknowledged that her grandson’s actions were inappropriate and that he had already been disciplined at home for his behavior.

However, she noticed that a few days after the incident, the victim no longer wanted to attend school and appeared to have lost hope. Concerned, she spoke directly to him at which time he confided in her and discussed the full details of what had happened in school.

On May 27th, at about 9:20 a.m, police went to the said high school to follow up on the reported incident. Upon arrival, they were approached by the school principal who directed them to wait in the school office for the suspect.

The suspect entered the office and was greeted by the authorities. The suspect was informed that he is not in custody and that they wished to speak with him regarding the matter that had been reported to the police.

The suspect gave a verbal statement and acknowledged that he believes his actions were justified. He admitted to slapping the victim in the face multiple times, stating that the victim “needed discipline” and that he was the one to provide it.

The suspect further explained that his actions were in response to the victim’s behavior towards the female teacher which he considered unacceptable. The suspect also admitted that he dragged the victim by his hair from his classroom to the female teacher’s classroom stating his intent was for the victim to apologize to the teacher.

Moreover, the suspect explained that regarding the incident during lunch period in his classroom involving students assaulting the victim, he claimed that he was unaware of what had transpired. He stated that he later entered the classroom and wrote the note for the victim to hold and instructed the victim to follow him outside. Once outside, he directed the victim to kneel down as a continued form of punishment for his actions.

The suspect refused to provide a written statement documenting his verbal account of the incident.

The officers spoke with the school principal regarding the need to interview the student who assaulted the victim. The principal told the authorities she would contact the student’s parents and request that they proceed to the police station with the student.

Police received a phone call later from the principal, who stated that the parents of the student refused to accompany their son to the station. The principal reported that she had explained the situation to them; however they declined and refused to cooperate.

The defendant is identified as a 45-year-old U.S citizen.

The affidavit does not state whether the student who allegedly assaulted the victim will face charges.