Woman reports she was raped while two men recorded the alleged incident

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On March 2, 2025, the Fagatogo Police Station (FPS) received a call from a victim who reported she was allegedly raped while it was recorded by two men.

The officers later arrested the suspects, but only one of them, Salefo’i Tuua-Fiaalii, was charged with:

Count 1: Sodomy, a class B felony punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to fifteen years; and,

Count 2: Rape, a class B felony punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to fifteen years.

There was no bail set for the defendant.

According to the court affidavit, on Mar. 2nd, at about 1:39 p.m., FPS received a call from a woman (later identified as the victim) requesting police assistance regarding two men who allegedly stripped her naked, while she was drunk and passed out, and she had proof that the men recorded her with their cell phone.

Police officers proceeded to the call and upon arrival at the scene, the officers were approached by an unknown female (victim) who was shouting and yelling at the neighbor’s house where two men were standing.

The officers approached the victim and asked if she was the reporter who called in the said matter, to which the woman then identified herself as the victim and showed the officers a phone.

The victim alleged that it was one of the men’s phones, his name was Vani, who recorded her while the other man, Salefo’i Tuua-Fiaalii raped her — all while she was passed out.

Vani was asked by the police if they could go through his phone and he gave consent to the officers. A video showed the individual that the victim identified as Salefo’i Tuua-Fiaali’i allegedly raping the victim while she was highly intoxicated and passed out.

The officers confiscated the phone while the victim identified the men who recorded and raped her.

The two men were immediately apprehended and taken to the police station for further investigation along with the victim. During transportation of the suspects, the officers detected a strong odor of alcohol from Tuua-Fiaali’i’s breath.

When they arrived at the FPS, the victim was interviewed and provided a statement.

The victim stated that she allegedly went to sleep at around 11:00 a.m. after having lunch with some of the people with whom she rents a place. When she woke up, she found Vani taking a video of her while the other suspect was walking around the house.

The victim explained that before she went to sleep, she had her work clothes on. However, when she woke up, she was only wearing a shirt but no pants. She also stated that she had slept in the kitchen, but when she got up she was sleeping inside Vani’s house and she doesn't remember how she got there. She then stood up and grabbed her pants and walked to her room. She also called out to Vani to give her his phone and when she opened his phone she saw videos of herself half-naked while Tuua-Fiaali’i was on top of her, so she called 911 for assistance.

After interviewing the victim, Vani was Mirandized to which he understood and was willing to make a statement. Vani was later identified as Verrzanogiovanni Va’atofu.

Va’atofu, verbally stated that when they were drinking beer, he walked past the kitchen with Tuua-Fiaali’i and they saw the victim sleeping on the kitchen floor. He then started recording as Tuua-Fiaali’i took off the victim’s pants and had sex with the victim (without her consent).

After Tuua-Fiaali’i had sex with her, he carried her to the other room and continued performing sexual acts on her while she was passed out. Va’atofu said he continued to record the victim sleeping half naked.

Not long after, the victim woke up and caught him recording her. She then confronted him and he showed her the video he took on his phone. It was after that when the victim contacted the police for help.

After interviewing Va’atofu, Tuua-Fiaali’i was Mirandized to which he understood and agreed to answer some questions.

Tuua-Fiaali’i was asked if he had any videos of the victim on his phone and he stated “yes”. The officers asked if they could go through his phone and he consented.  In the video that was taken on Tuua-Fiaali’i’s phone, Tuua-Fiaali’i is seen having sexual relations with the victim for up to 8- 13 minutes.

After answering some of the officers’ questions, Tuua-Fiaali’i refused to continue.

Both the defendants were booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility for 48 hours to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

Va’atofu is identified as a 21-year-old citizen of Samoa and Va’atofu as a 22-year-old U.S National.

It’s unknown at this point what charges Va’atofu is facing, if any, as the affidavit only identifies Va’atofu as being charged.