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Uncle accused of inappropriate touching asks for a jury trial

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ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA —  An uncle accused of inappropriate touching will fight the allegations against him at trial.

Samoa News is withholding the name of the defendant to protect the identity of the victim.  

According to the government’s case, the defendant is accused of inappropriately touching his 14-year-old niece. The victim told police that since that day back in December of last year, the defendant continued to touch her in the same sexual manner until February this year, the government alleges.

The victim eventually reported the matter to her school counselor, who questioned her about a prolonged absence from school.

The defendant is charged with one count each of sodomy — a class B felony punishable by five to 15 years; deviate sexual assault, a class C felony, punishable by up to seven years in jail, a $5,000 fine or both; and sexual abuse in the first degree, a class D felony, punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a $5,000 fine or both.

The uncle is also charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of $1,000 or both.

This matter was called for a pre-trial conference and Public Defender Mike White informed the court they have yet to come to a resolution on this matter and they are moving to have this case go forward to trial.

The defendant, who has been in custody since his arrest, is held on a $30,000 bail.

MAN CONVICTED OF STEALING CELL PHONE GETS ANOTHER CHANCE

The 25 year-old man who was convicted of stealing a Samsung Galaxy S5 phone will get another chance from the court.

Malala Lautaimi appeared before Acting Associate Justice Elvis P. Patea for sentencing last Friday. He was represented by Public Defender Michael White, while prosecuting the case was Assistant Attorney General Christy Dunn.

Lautaimi was initially charged with 2nd degree robbery and stealing, however under a plea agreement, which was accepted by the High Court, he agreed to plead guilty to the count of stealing, a class C felony.

When given the chance to address the court, Lautaimi, who has been in custody since he was arrested last year apologized for his actions, and begged the court for a chance to go back home to care for his parents. He said that the many months he spent in prison taught him a good lesson, which will help him to reform his life in the future.

He also apologized to the victim in his case.

His attorney, White asked the court to sentence his client to a probated sentence, without any additional period of detention. He said his client was truly remorseful for what he did, and he has learnt a good lesson from the time spent in prison.

Prosecutor Dunn echoed White’s submission and also stated to the court that the government believes that the defendant is truly remorseful for his actions.

After reviewing facts of the case, Patea then sentenced the defendant to a term of imprisonment of 7 years. Execution of sentence was suspended and the defendant was placed on probation for 7 years subject to certain conditions; including serving 28 months at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF), however, 8 months were stayed, based on his good behavior and he will only do 12 months of detention.

According to court records, the completion of the defendant’s 12 months detention will expire at the end of this month.

The court also ordered the defendant to remain law abiding, to visit the probation office once a month, and to seek and obtain gainful employment.