Woman arrested for allegedly assaulting 15-year old with a rake handle

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A woman was arrested last month on the allegation that she assaulted a 15-year-old girl with the handle of a rake.

The defendant, Tili Filemoni made her initial appearance in Court last month.

Filemoni is charged with 2nd-degree assault and one count of child abuse, both class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Bail is set at $10,000.

THE CASE

On Mar. 4, 2022 at about 5:45p.m, a man walked into the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to file a complaint against Tili Filemoni for assaulting his 15-year-old niece with the handle of a rake. The man who reported the alleged crime was interviewed by investigators.

According to the reporter, Filemoni used the handle of a rake and struck his niece four times in the face, causing several injuries. The reporter further stated that on the same date, he received a phone call from his sister (victim’s mother) explaining why she was not able to come to visit their mother because of what happened to her daughter (victim) after she was allegedly assaulted by the defendant.

The reporter further stated to investigators that on the same date, his wife also received a phone call from his sister, who told her what happened. The reporter mentioned that his wife went there to check and see what had happened to his niece (victim).

After receiving confirmation about the incident, the reporter told his wife to bring the victim to their residence in Tafuna.

As soon as the victim arrived, the reporter took her to the LBJ Hospital and he said he was not thinking of the police nor social services, all he he could think of was taking her in [to the hospital] and having a doctor examine her, and making sure she was alright.

Investigators interviewed the victim and she briefed investigators concerning the matter and provided a written statement about what happened.

The victim stated that she came home from the store at around 3p.m on the day of the incident, and she walked into her room to take a small nap. Later that same day she heard her friend’s mother call out to her to come outside because she wanted to talk to her.

The victim came outside of the house not knowing why the defendant wanted to talk to her. When she got outside, the defendant yelled at her, accusing her of spreading rumors about their family. The victim was confused about what the defendant was saying, as she didn’t know about the rumors.

As she was standing there, outside her house, Mrs. Filemoni walked over to her and slapped her in the face while holding a rake in her other hand. Filemoni then stuck her head and face with the rake handle multiple times.

Investigators went to the defendant’s house and met up with her at her residence and requested that she come to the TPS to discuss the incident. Filemoni agreed and went with police.

At the TPS, she gave investigators her verbal statement after she waived her rights saying that she was mad at the victim for spreading rumors about her family saying that she and her husband were selling drugs.

She later admitted to investigators that she hit the victim with the handle of the rake.