Man accused of raping 16-year old girl and vandalizing her uncle’s house

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of having sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old girl is now in custody after he was arrested last month. The matter was reported to police by the girl’s aunt.

The defendant, Panapa Afamasaga, appeared in Court last month for an initial appearance.

Panapa is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth), both unclassified felonies, along with 2 counts of rape and 2 counts of sodomy, all class B felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years nor more than fifteen years, and 2 counts of 1st- degree sexual abuse, both class D felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

Bail is set at $30,000 and Afamasaga is scheduled to appear in court next week for a preliminary hearing (PX).

According to the government’s case, it was the night of Oct. 12, 2022 when a woman contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for assistance after she received a disturbing phone call regarding her niece from her brother and his wife in Tafeta.

After a brief discussion with officers, the caller agreed to come to the TPS with her niece to discuss this matter.

A hour later, around 9:15p.m, on the same night, a woman and a young female walked into the TPS and met up with two investigators. The woman and the girl were later identified as the victim and her aunt.

A preliminary interview with investigators revealed that the young female was involved in a sexual relationship with an adult male, later identified as Panapa Afamasaga, also known as “Napa”, the defendant in this matter.

The victim was interview by investigators regarding the alleged incident. According to the victim’s statement, she was at her uncle’s home in Tafeta earlier that day when the defendant messaged her and asked of her whereabouts. She told him that she’s at her uncle’s residence.

Shortly, a black pick-up pulled up in front of her uncle’s residence and Afamasaga exited the truck and walked up to the front door and asked for the victim.

The victim’s uncle instructed the defendant to get off the land before he did something to him. That is when the defendant yelled out profanities at the victim’s uncle and threatened to kill him and his family. The defendant also threw stones at the house damaging the door and the front window of the house. The defendant then fled the scene.

When asked by investigators how she met the defendant, the victim stated that when she was at her uncle’s residence in Tafeta on the morning of Oct. 10, she went to look for a phone to call a friend and she met a man who identified himself as Napa, and she asked him if she could use his phone to make a call.

The victim stated that the defendant grabbed her hand and pulled her inside the house and raped her, despite her trying to push him away.

 After the alleged rape, the defendant gave her $200 and told her to go and buy a phone so that they could communicate. The defendant left and the victim returned to her uncle’s home.

On Oct. 11, after obtaining her phone number, the defendant contacted the victim at about 8 p.m and asked her to come outside. The defendant took the victim to the same house and had sexual intercourse with the victim. The victim told investigators that this time, she agreed to have sex with him.

The next day, Oct. 12, which is the date of the alleged incident, the defendant went to the victim’s uncle’s house in an effort to take the victim with him (again), however as stated earlier, the defendant was chased away by the victim’s uncle.

The victim’s aunt and uncle were also interviewed by investigators.

The victim’s aunt told investigators that when she confronted her niece about the defendant, she (victim) admitted having sex with the defendant twice.

The victim’s uncle was also interviewed by investigators and he confirmed what happened on the night of Oct. 12 after he chased the defendant away from his compound.

The defendant was apprehended and transported to the TPS for investigation.

He was patted down for weapons and contraband, and during the body search, cops discovered a small stamp-sized baggie containing a green leafy substance inside the defendant’s right pocket, along with a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance inside his left pocket.

The defendant was Mirandized and he refused to make a statement to investigators.