Pago Paago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On January 24, 2035, an investigation was conducted regarding an alleged assault of a minor who had escaped from the Juvenile Detention Center by five corrections officers and an inmate.
There were no arrests made regarding the officers and the inmates involved, but they were later charged as follows:
Lucky Fa’alavelave, Fiafia Fiafia, Maureen Saupo, Nick Sekai, Chris Auvele and Vaipou Tiaua were 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 $1,000.00, or both imprisonment and fine; and, 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 $1,000.00, or both imprisonment and fine.
Vaipou Tiaua had an additional charge of: Count 3: Felonicious Restraint, a class C felony punishable by imprisonment of not more than seven years, a fine not more than $5,000.00, or both.
Lucky Fa’alavelave had no set bail.
Vaipou Tiaua’s bail was set at $5,000.00.
All the other officers’ bails were set at $500.00.
According to the court affidavit, on Jan. 24th, authorities were tasked to investigate a matter that was referred to the DPS Commissioner by the acting Director of the Department of Corrections (DOC). The complaint received was against the Corrections officers (CO) who are suspected to have assaulted a juvenile detainee at the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC).
On the same day, police officers met with the CO of the JDC and then later with the victim, who is one of the juvenile detainees at the JDC.
According to the victim, he and another juvenile detainee escaped from the JDC on December 30, 2024. He explained that he was caught on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025 and was transported back to the JDC by two officers.
When they arrived at the JDC, CO Fiafia and the police officers secured him in his cell and then left. The victim further stated that after the police officers left, CO Fiafia (suspect #1) came back and punched him from outside his cell and told him (in Samoan) to “wait for the guys who are coming”.
The victim continued that Fiafia then left and about five minutes later, five individuals came to his cell: Fiafia, Vaipou Tiaua (suspect 2), Nick Sekai (suspect #3), Maureen Saupo (suspect #4) and an inmate.
Fiafia opened the gate (cell door) and they came in and told him to remove his clothes. He then took off his clothes and left only his boxers on.
Tiaua then cuffed him from behind and punched him twice and made him sit on the floor. Sekai then came and punched him with his left hand. Afterwards, the inmate, later identified as Lucky Fa’alavelave (suspect #5) came and pulled him by his leg and punched him twice in his nose.
The victim further explained that as he was crawling all over the place, he heard them saying to take him to the other cell to separate him from the other detainee (later identified as the witness) with whom he had escaped. He also saw the officers recording a video while he was walking to the other room.
Continuing, he said Saupo hit him with an empty cracker bucket while Fa’alavelave came and slapped him three times.
Afterwards, they all went outside and Tiaua told him that he would be waiting at the Tafuna Correctional Facility (TCF).
The victim stated that “he was so afraid of what happened that he was thinking of suicide.”
The victim further stated that on Jan. 15th, CO Auvele came and relieved the day shift at 6pm, and came over to him and asked him in Samoan, “E ke fia ulavale?” (Are you a tough guy?) He responded no but Auvele came into his cell and punched him in the mouth three times causing his nose to bleed again.
The victim said that his body was in pain and he was hurting. Therefore, he reported the assault to one of the officers. He also mentioned another officer who told him that he saw the video and that he came to check on him.
Authorities were also able to interview the officer to whom the victim stated he reported the incident. The officer said that on Jan. 16, 2025, the victim reported the situation to him and he reported it to his superior who then referred the matter to the Assistant Warden.
He was instructed by the Assistant Warden through his superior to type up the report and submit it the following day. However, on Jan. 21, 2025, there was still no action or update regarding the situation and he contacted the TPS and reported the matter.
On Jan. 24, 2025, the officers interviewed the juvenile detainee (witness) and he told the officers that on the day the victim was brought in after escaping, he saw Tiaua, Fiafia, Sekai and an inmate going into the victim’s cell. He then heard a sound from the wall and the victim was screaming “Aue! Fiaola!”. (I want to live!). He further heard Saupo saying to change the victim’s cell and after a few minutes after they left, he heard the victim screaming again.
The witness also stated that he was sure that when the victim was brought in by the officers, he did not see any injuries. However, when they transferred him to the other cell, he could see that the victim was bleeding from his face.
The interview also disclosed that Tiaua further assaulted the witness while he was handcuffed behind a car on Jan. 2, 2025 when he was caught. The witness claimed that Tiaua punched him with a closed fist three times.
All the officers involved were interviewed and were informed that they were not in custody and could leave whenever they wish. They were also told that they may stop the interview at any time and were not obligated to answer any questions in which they understood and agreed to give their statements.
According to Sekai, it was around 4 or 5 p.m., on Jan. 12, 2025 that they received a call from the JDC that they needed officers to assist Fiafia. Sekai stated that he and Tiaua went to the JDC, and they went into the victim’s cell and it was Fiafia and Tiaua who assisted Peato while he was cleaning all the mess and the trash from the cell.
Sekai explained that he went into the other room and he heard the victim screaming and there was a loud boom sound coming from the wall. He claimed he didn’t know if they slapped or threw him against the wall. Sekai said that Saupo arrived with an inmate to bring food for the female unit and she told him to make arrangements to separate the two detainees by placing the victim on the female side. Sekai said that they escorted the victim to the other side and Saupo grabbed a plastic bowl and hit the victim on his arm. He claimed he was not paying attention and does not know how many times Saupo hit the victim.
Saupo was interviewed too, and stated that she was dropping off their outgoing shift when she received a call that the JDC needed assistance securing an escapee. She called Tiaua and told him to go assist Fiafia at the JDC. She went and picked up the food for the detainees from the female unit and went with inmate Fa’alavelave.
Suapo explained that she took the inmate because he was a trustee and they needed the help to clean up the mess at the JDC.
Saupo was asked about the risks of taking an inmate to the JDC and she stated that “it is how they handle things”. Saupo continued that when they got the JDC, it was Fiafia who opened the gate. When they got inside, she saw the victim inside one of the cells on the male side and she told Tiaua to transfer the victim to the female side according to the Assistant Warden’s order.
Saupo further stated that she asked the victim regarding a lady’s house that was broken into which went viral on Facebook. At the time, the victim was standing in the hallway while Sekai was securing the room. She also questioned the victim about one of the officers' wallets that went missing on the day they escaped and the victim blamed it on the witness. Saupo admitted that she threw a bucket at the victim and asked him why he did what he did to the other officer. She also mentioned that the other officer almost got killed. She claimed that in five minutes they left with Sekai and Fa’alavelave.
During Fiafia’s interview, he explained that he was posted at the JDC on the day that the victim was brought in by police officers. He stated that it was he and the other officers who secured the victim in the cell before the other officers left. After that, he called the watch commander and requested assistance to help secure the premises. Sekai and Tiaua arrived and brought out the trash from inside and Tiaua beat up the victim.
Afterwards, Saupo arrived and she wanted to transfer the victim to the other cell where upon they complied and transferred the victim to the female side. Fiafia also noted that Saupo was mad and threw a cracker bucket at the victim.
The officer that saw the video was also interviewed. He stated that on Jan. 12, 2025, he came back to work and started setting up to relieve Fiafia from duty. Fiafia asked him if he saw the live fight that was on video. (In Samoan and in a joking manner while laughing). He replied “no”. At this time, he saw Tiaua exit the female unit and then grabbed his phone and handed it to him. He watched the video and saw the victim standing on top of the cement slab (inside the cell) crying. He further saw and heard Tiaua tell the victim to come close and then slapped his mouth with his right hand (open hand) and he heard a loud pop. The victim started crying more and louder while begging them to stop and that he won’t do it again. However, Tiaua alternated using his left hand and right hand to slap the victim about five times. He stated that in the video, Sekai was standing next to Tiaua.
The officer explained that after every slap, he could hear the victim pleading for mercy in Samoan. With the final slap, the victim dropped to his back and Tiaua stepped onto the cement slab where the victim was lying on and used his right leg in a frontal motion action, where the bottom of his boots made contact with the victim’s face.
Moreover, while Tiaua was kicking the victim’s face, the victim was pleading for mercy the whole time. The victim’s hands then dropped from blocking his face and he went completely silent for a short period of time as if he was unconscious. The officer stated that after the fifth kick, he gave Tiaua his phone back and he saw the joy on their faces as if they were happy with their actions.
Auvele was also interviewed and stated that on Jan.15, 2025, he came in to relieve one of the officers and saw that he was having a hard time dealing with detainees that day. He went and opened the victim’s cell and talked to him about their attitudes towards the older officers. He said he backhanded the victim with his right hand and slapped him once with his left hand. Auvele was asked if he saw any injuries on the victim and he claimed that he had scratches on his face but was not sure where and when he got the scratches.
An interview of another officer was made by telephone, who explained that he was busy and was about to go to work. The affidavit stated that the officer appeared to be covering up for Auvele, not knowing Auvele had confessed to the incident. According to the officer, Auvele went into the victim’s cell, talked to him and came back out. He claimed that nothing happened but both Auvele and the victim claimed that he was aware of the incident.
The inmate (trustee) was also interviewed at the TCF on Jan. 24, 2025. He said that he didn't know anything but that he heard noises of a kid screaming “Fia ola!”. (I want to live!).
On Jan. 30, 2025, the trustee was interviewed again and insisted that nothing had happened and that he was only there to deliver the food.
Officers Sefo and Aiumu were also interviewed separately on Jan. 24, 2025.
According to Sefo, it was he, Aiumu, Filipo and Tiaua who went to Vaitogi and apprehended the witness. Sefo stated that Tiaua only slapped the witness once after he was secured into the police unit.
Aiumu stated that he didn’t see any assault of the witness and recalled that it was he, Sefo, Tiaua and Filipo who caught the witness and brought him back to the JDC.
The investigation revealed that Fiafia did not note any arrival of Tiaua, Sekai, Saupo and Fa’alavelave, and there were no record of the incident in the JDC log book.
Taai was also interviewed regarding the JDC log book and he stated that all the information regarding the watch, including visitors and staff are logged down. When questioned about the officers delivering food, he stated that it needs to be logged down as well.
The affidavit does not state if there were any arrests made.
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