Man accused of attempted rape pleads guilty to felonious restraint

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 35-year-old man who was convicted by the High Court for attempted felonious restraint is ordered to serve 28 months behind bars, as part of a 7-year probation sentence.

Iafeta Laamauga was initially charged with attempted rape, first-degree sexual abuse, and attempted felonious restraint, all felonies. However, under a plea agreement with the government, the defendant pled guilty to attempted felonious restraint, and the remaining charges were dismissed.

According to the government, the victim is a 16-year-old girl whose family rents where the Laamauga and his family live. The victim and the defendant’s family share the same bathroom and kitchen.

 Sometime in the beginning of 2020 when the victim went to the bathroom, the defendant followed her and tried to touch her in a sexual manner. He also attempted to restrain her unlawfully, in order for him to have his way.

During sentencing last week, Laamauga apologized to the Court for his actions and begged for a second chance to return home to care for his family. He told the Court that he is truly remorseful for what he did, and he assured the judge that he will never break any laws again.

He further stated to the court that his family has moved out of the building where the victim’s family lives.

The defense attorney told the Court that he believes his client is truly remorseful and added that everyone is affected by his client's action, not only the victim and her family, but his family as well. He asked the court to sentence his client to a probated sentence, and use the 24 months he has already served in pretrial confinement as his sentence in this case.

The prosecutor echoed the defense attorney’s statement, saying that Laamauga is a suitable candidate for probation; however, she reminded the court about the seriousness of the his actions.

The government attorney also said the victim was lucky that nothing more serious happened that day. She reminded the court that Laamauga must be ordered to stay away from the victim and not try to contact her or her family at any time.

The court said that upon review of the recommendations from both attorneys, the statement from the defendant, and also the report from the Probation Office, the court feels that Mr. Laamauga is a suitable candidate for a probated sentence.

The court told Laamauga that the court does not take lightly any cases that involve minor children, especially when they are sexually assaulted. He noted that although this was Laamauga’s first conviction in the High Court, he has a criminal record in the District Court — convictions on misdemeanors.

He was sentenced to seven years in jail; however, execution of the sentence was suspended and the defendant was placed on seven years probation on the condition that he serves 28 months at the TCF. He was credited for the 24 months he has already served while awaiting sentencing. He has 4 more months to serve before he’s release from custody.

 He was also ordered to register as a sex offender and submit himself to an HIV test, as required by law. He is not to make any contact with the victim and her family, nor is he to confront her at any time or place. He is also not to congregate with children under 16 years old.

Upon release from custody, Laamauga is ordered to leave the territory and remain outside of its border for the duration of his probation. However, this condition was stayed until further order of the court.

The court strongly advised Laamauga to utilize the opportunity the court has given him to straighten up his life and do something good for himself and his family.

“If you violate any of the court’s order, there will be no more discussion between you and the court,” the court told the defendant.

BACKGROUND

According to the government’s case, it was the victim’s mother who notified police about the alleged abuse in the second week of January 2020 involving the victim and the man next door whom she called uncle.

The man was later identified by investigators as Iafeta Laamauga, who was convicted of reduced charges in this case.

The victim’s mother told police that two months prior Laamauga had asked the girl to come over and look after his two-year-old child because his wife had been admitted to LBJ Hospital with the flu.

Investigators also interviewed the victim’s aunt who lives few blocks away from the victim’s house.

The aunt recalled that in December 2019, her niece called and asked if she could pick her up. The woman said she and her eldest daughter took the victim to their house, where she opened up to them about what the defendant did to her one night in the last week of November and another night in the first week of December 2019.

According to what the victim told her aunt, the defendant sexually abused her twice and held her inside the house for more than two hours, but she was afraid to tell anyone because he threatened to kill her if she told anybody what allegedly happened between them.

She also reported several other incidents that occurred around the same time.

The victim provided a written statement in Samoan to police.

The victim told police that she had shared her story with the defendant’s wife who also apologized on behalf of her husband and assured the victim that she would speak to the defendant.

When questioned by police, the defendant allegedly admitted to sexual abuse of the victim and locking her inside his room for over two hours.

He told police that the devil tempted him to do the things that he did to the victim and he fell for it because he was under the influence of illegal drugs and alcohol.