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Cop accused of sexual harassment warned about missing court appearances

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — District Court Judge Fiti Sunia gave one final piece of advice to a former DPS officer, accused of touching a female officer in a sexual manner, “If you miss any of your court appearances one more time, you will find yourself inside the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) until your case is resolved.”

Emmanuel Lito, one of the 2 (now former) police officers accused of sexual harassment, appeared in court this week pursuant to a bench warrant, for failing to appear when his case was called two weeks ago.

Assistant Public Defender Anna Wells represents Lito while Assistant Attorney General Jason Mitchell is prosecuting.

When Lito’s case was called, his attorney acknowledged receiving the copy of the bench warrant issued by the court to arrest Lito.

“Where was your client?” Sunia asked. Wells said her office is to blame, because they forgot to inform Lito of his scheduled court date when he returned from his trip off island.

Wells then asked the court to quash the warrant and allow her client to be released on his own recognizance to await the conclusion of his pending case.

Sunia granted the defense’s motion, quashed the bench warrant, and then warned Lito that if he fails to show up during any future court appearances, he will be arrested and held in custody until his case is resolved.