The District Court has denied bail for Salati Tuitamailavetiga,19 years of age, on allegations that he sexually abused an 11 year old girl. Tuitamailavetiga is facing charges of first degree sexual abuse a class D felony punishable with up to five years, a fine of $5,000 or both,as well as a sodomy charge, which carries a jail term from five to 15 years.

The incident came to light when the police received a call from a Social Worker regarding an 11 year old girl who was observed with love bites on her neck which the police later photographed.

The 11 year old girl told the police that on February 28, 2015 around 9p.m. at night she was playing hide and seek with her other friends and someone introduced her to the defendant. It’s alleged that Tuitamailavetiga took the girl to a nearby shack and gave her “hickies” or love-bites on her neck, and touched her inappropriately on her private parts.

The victim’s older sister went looking for her sister and found her in the shack with the defendant. According to the government’s case, when the victim’s older sister approached the shack, that’s when the defendant stopped touching the girl.

Court filings say that when the defendant was approached by the victim, Tuitamailavetiga allegedly said that the 11 year old girl wanted it. The defendant also told the sister that he was 17 years old according to court records.

It’s alleged that the sister’s boyfriend scolded the defendant and then beat him up for what he did to the little girl.

In March the police interviewed the defendant in the presence of his aunt.

Court filings say that Tuitamailavetiga admitted that he had touched the victim on her private parts but that was all he did. The other girls who were present told the police they were playing when the defendant took the victim to a nearby shack.

Police initially treated this matter as a juvenile case because defendant initially stated that he was 17 years old, however police discovered the defendant was in fact 18 years old when they examined his identification.