Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Two of the three men who were arrested and charged for sexually assaulting two 14-year-old girls last year appeared in High Court last week for a Change of Plea hearing.

Loma Michael Iosia and Nick Mataia — both in custody unable to post a $100,000 surety bond — were each charged in two separates cases.

LOMA MICHAEL IOSIA

For his first case, Iosia was initially charged with one count of rape; two counts of first degree sexual abuse, both felonies; and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.

For his second case, he was initially charged with unlawful distribution of meth; and unlawful possession of meth, both felonies.

But under a plea agreement with the government - accepted by the court last Friday - Iosia pled guilty to the amended count of sexual assault, a class C felony, in the first case.

For the second case, Iosia pled guilty to the amended count of unlawful possession of a meth, a class D felony.

With his guilty plea, Iosia admits that on Oct. 6, 2018 he sexually assaulted V.M, a female under the age of 16. He also admits that while he was sexually assaulting this minor child, he had on him a glass pipe and a small baggie - both containing meth.

NICK MATAIA

In Matai’a first case, he was initially charged with one count of rape, one count of sodomy, and one count of first degree sexual abuse, all felonies; and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.

For the second case, he was initially charged with one count of unlawful distribution of meth; and one count of unlawful possession meth.

But under a plea agreement with the government - accepted by the court last Friday - Mataia pled guilty to the amended count of sexual assault, a class C felony, in the first case.

In his second case, he pled guilty to the amended count of unlawful possession of meth.

With his guilty plea, Mataia admits that on Oct. 6, 2018 he sexually assaulted T.M, a female under the age of 16 and during the act, he had in his possession a glass pipe containing meth.

Both men will be sentenced Sept. 4th, 2019.

BACKGROUND

Iosia and Mataia, along with co-defendant Apisaloma Timu who is serving a 28-month sentence for a conviction in this same case, were arrested and charged on Oct. 10, 2018 after a woman contacted police about a case involving two girls and drugs.

The woman’s two 14-year-old daughters are the victims, identified in court documents as T.T and V.M.

T.T told police that on the night of Oct. 6th while she and her sister V.M were in front of a sewing shop, Timu and Mataia pulled up and asked if they needed a ride and they accepted. The girls and the defendants ended up in the same house where they were sexually assaulted and given ‘ice’ to smoke before and after.

T.T told police that both Timu and Mataia sexually assaulted her and she smoked ice with both men. The next morning, she said Iosia dropped her off and gave her a plastic baggie containing ice, with a glass pipe used to smoke it.