Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 38-year-old married man is now in custody after being arrested by police last month on the allegation that he had a sexual relationship with his 16-year-old niece for a period of over 4 months.

Moreover, the victim’s stepmother told investigators that the victim’s aunt allegedly allowed the alleged sexual relationship between the defendant and the victim to continue after the victim attempted to commit suicide when she was confronted by her aunt regarding the sexual relationship with her (victim) married uncle.

During his arrest, police discovered drugs in the defendant’s possession.

(To protect the identity of the victim in this case, Samoa News will not name parties involved in this matter.)

The defendant, who has a criminal record, made his initial appearance in District Court last month.

The government has filed two separate cases against the defendant.

In the first case, the defendant is charged with three counts of rape, a class B felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years nor more than fifteen years; three counts of 1st degree sexual abuse and 3 counts of incest, both class D felonies, along with one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.

In the second case, the defendant is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth) and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, both unclassified felonies, punishable by imprisonment from 5-10, a fine of up to $20,000, or both; along with one count of 3rd degree assault involving domestic violence and one count of private peace disturbance involving domestic violence, both class A misdemeanors.

Bail is set at $50,000.

If he post bonds, the usual restrictions are imposed, including not to have any direct or indirect contact with the victim or her family.

Preliminary examination is next week.

THE CASE

On June 10th, 2021, a woman contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) requesting police assistance at her home after she was beaten up by her husband. The woman told police on the phone that it had been over two months now since her husband left her and went to stay with his uncle in Kokoland, after she confronted him regarding a suspected sexual relationship between him (her husband) and his 16-year-old niece.

Several police officers responded to the call and met up with the victim/ reporter at her house in Tafuna. According to the reporter, she was preparing dinner for her elderly mother when her husband approached her and requested a chance to talk to her. During their conversation, her husband assaulted her by pulling her hair, pushing her to the wall and punching her in the face twice.

The woman further told police that it was in the beginning of this year when her husband told her that he wanted to leave their marriage and find a new life because he’s tired of her behavior. The woman stated that one of her husband’s family members told her that her husband was having an affair with his own 16-year-old niece since January of this year.

She told investigators that her husband’s male cousin told her that her husband (defendant) would pick up the victim from the victim’s aunt’s home, where the girl stays, and he would take her to his uncle’s place in Kokoland to have sex there before dropping the victim back at her place.

Furthermore, the defendant’s wife (reporter) told investigators that the victim’s aunt contacted her husband’s sister and told her that the victim has attempted to commit suicide three times after she was confronted about her sexual relationship with her uncle.

After receiving the information, investigators contacted everyone involved in the matter, asking them to come to the TPS to discuss the issue. Those who went to TPS for questioning included the 16-year-old victim, her aunt, the defendant’s male cousin, along with the victim’s stepmother.

The victim was interviewed by investigators in the presence of her stepmother.

During the interview, the victim confirmed what her uncle (defendant) said — that it was in the month of January of this year when she started the relationship with her uncle.

She described the defendant as a loving person, who always provided everything she wanted, and he would call on her to check how she was doing and ask if she needed anything. The defendant also gave her money to buy whatever she wanted — clothes, shoes and a new cell phone.

The victim admitted to investigators that she and the defendant had been having a sexual relationship for over four months now and the defendant told her that he had divorced his wife at the beginning of last year and he wanted to stay with her for the rest of his life.

She said the love between her and the defendant grew stronger and stronger and it got to the point where she wanted to marry him and be with him for the rest of her life.

At times when they were not together, the victim said she used her aunt’s phone to communicate with her uncle through Facebook, because she didn’t want her uncle’s wife to know that she was the one who was talking with the defendant on the phone.

The victim further stated to investigators that she agreed to have sex with the defendant.

The victim’s aunt stated that she had known about her niece’s relationship with the defendant. She said she at first was against it, but finally gave in and gave her permission. She said she didn’t report it to police when she found out because she was afraid that her niece might do something drastic if she pressured her to stop the relationship. The aunt recalled three separate incidents where the victim attempted to commit suicide after she scolded the victim about the relationship. Eventually, she decided not to bother her niece anymore after the last attempt.

However, she noted that every time she heard her niece and the defendant talking on the phone, she felt something heavy in her heart, knowing that she’s not doing her part to correct ‘the wrong’.

According to the victim’s stepmother, she was not aware that her stepdaughter and the defendant were having a sexual relationship. Although she recalled an incident on the second Sunday of January, this year, while her stepdaughter was still living with them,  where she saw the defendant at their house. She said she didn’t pay it any mind, because she thought that the defendant was there on a family matter. But, after that time, the victim went to stay with her aunt’s family in another village.

However, the stepmother said she was very disappointed when she found out about the sexual relationship between the defendant and her stepdaughter, knowing that both are from the same family.

The victim’s female cousin was also interviewed by investigators. She said she only found out about the relationship after she discovered the defendant’s clothes in the victim’s room and luggage.

The victim’s cousin stated that the defendant would come by their place to visit, but he did not show any signs that he was having a sexual relationship with the victim. It was in March that the victim revealed to her that she was in a relationship with the defendant after she confronted the victim about the clothes and her new cell phone.

The cousin said she was trying to convince the victim to end the relationship with the defendant but she continued to refuse and told her that she wanted to continue the relationship.

The defendant was apprehended at his uncle’s house in Kokoland last month and transported to the TPS for questioning where he was Mirandized, after being told of the allegations of his relationship with ‘his’ niece, a 16-year-old.

The defendant agreed to provide a written and verbal statement to investigators.

The defendant verbally confirmed his relationship with the victim that started on Jan. 12th, 2021. He also stated that the victim’s aunt was aware of their relationship and that the aunt gave him permission to date the victim. He stated to police that at no time did the victim attempt to commit suicide.

He said the relationship was sexual and included dates, with nightly visitations starting from the last week of January and the whole of February.

The defendant also told investigators that things had been getting worse in his marriage and he knew that it could never be repaired. He then decided to date this young girl because he loved her, and he wanted to be with her.

He was tired of his wife’s disrespectful behavior towards him and the fact that she (his wife) also bothered him whenever he came home late from work. He stated that he worked hard for his family, especially his children, however, it appeared that his wife did not respect his good work.

Before the defendant was taken into custody for questioning, police conducted a body search where police discovered a brown paper inside his right pants pocket. Inside the brown paper, police discovered a glass pipe containing white crystalline substance, along with two hand rolled marijuana joints.

When asked about the drugs, the defendant admitted that the drugs belonged to him and he bought them from a friend in Vaitogi. He did not reveal the identity of the individual from whom he bought the drugs.

The white crystalline substance was tested and it revealed a positive result for meth. The green leafy substance was also tested and later revealed a positive result for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.