UNCLE ENTERS GUILTY PLEA IN SEX CASE INVOLVING NIECE

A man who had sexual intercourse with his 13-year old niece will be sentenced on May 24, 2013 following a plea agreement between the defendant and the government. The defendant, whose name Samoa News is withholding to protect the identity of the victim, has been held on $25,000 bail after being charged with rape, sexual abuse first degree and endangering the welfare of a child.

However, in a plea agreement with the government, the defendant pled guilty to rape, a class B felony punishable from five to 15 years in jail, while the government moved to dismiss the remaining charges. Associate Justice Lyle L Richmond accepted the plea agreement and scheduled sentencing for the defendant next month.

According to the government’s case, the incident came to light when the victim ran  away from home. Police questioned the victim who in turn stated that she had had sexual intercourse with her uncle when she was 13 years of age.

The victim also told the police that aside from her uncle she was also in a sexual relationship with her neighbor when she was only 12 years old.  Her neighbor has been charged with rape, sexual abuse first degree and endangering the welfare of a child. He has pled guilty to rape.

The victim said when she woke up she saw her uncle touching her inappropriately, and she then woke her grandmother who was sleeping next to her. The government claims that when the grandmother woke up, the uncle was still sitting on the bed. It is alleged the uncle apologized for his actions to the victim and grandmother, however the grandmother scolded him and chased him out of the house.

According to the government’s case, the second incident occurred between August and September 2010, where the uncle forced the victim to have sexual intercourse and continued to have sexual intercourse with the victim many times after the second incident.

The victim told the police that the last time she had sex with the Uncle was in January 2012. Police contacted the uncle who said he only touched the victim’s breast several years ago.

According to the government’s case the uncle initially denied having sexual intercourse, but eventually admitted having sex with his niece in January 2012.

 SULUSULU FIGHTS EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGE IN JURY TRIAL

A woman accused of embezzling more than $10,000 from GHC Reid Company three years ago is vehemently denying the allegations against her and asked Chief Justice Michael Kruse for a jury trial date.

Stephania Sulusulu is facing two charges of embezzlement and is being represented represented by Public Defender Douglas Fiaui, while prosecuting is Assistant Attorney General Kimberly Hyde.

According to the government’s case, the incident came to light in May 2010 when finance officers with the company noticed discrepancies in the accounts for which the defendant is responsible.

Court filings say, there were certain company checks which the defendant applied to payments for other companies. For example a check from the North West Company made out to GHC Reid for their monthly bill was applied to Cost U Less outstanding invoices.

It's alleged that Sulusulu was confronted by one of the managers at GHC Reid in May, and was placed on unpaid suspension, but before she left the office, the defendant allegedly helped a walk-in customer who came to pay an outstanding balance of $104. At the end of the day, when GHC Reid finance officers were totaling the deposits, they discovered that the $104 was missing.

When the finance officers contacted the defendant about the missing $104, she told them it was left in her drawer along with the invoice and said that she would contact the company later, but she never did.

Court filings say that four days later the defendant departed the territory without informing the company of her trip. At the same time, a finance officer conducted further investigation into the accounts the defendant serviced between April and May 2010.  It’s alleged that the defendant was overlapping customer payments, wherein she would use checks from some accounts to cover outstanding balances on the accounts of customers who paid with cash. 

Court filings say that investigation revealed that the defendant embezzled up to $11,842.27 from the GHC Reid Company. It's also alleged that on Dec. 1, 2010 the defendant sent a Facebook message to the President of GHC Reid apologizing for her actions and asked that she be forgiven. She offered to repay what she owed GHC Reid in partial payments.

Four months later the defendant returned to the territory and signed a promissory note to pay back $11,842.27. Court filings say that the defendant promised to make payments in the amount of $500 monthly until the balance was paid off. The government claims the defendant began making payments to GHC Reid between April 2011 and November 2012 and the total amount already paid is roughly $1,050.

The Chief Justice scheduled the jury trial in this case for March 2014, however noted that if another case does not proceed to trial as already scheduled, this case can fill that slot.