Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 69-year-old great uncle from Faleniu was arrested last week on the allegation that he raped his 11-year-old niece inside their home at the beginning of the year.

[In the interest of protecting the minor victim, Samoa News is withholding the names of all parties involved].

The defendant made his initial appearance before District Court Judge Elvis P. Patea last week. He is charged with several serious felonies: one count each of child molesting; sodomy; rape; first degree sexual abuse; and two counts of incest. Bail is set at $55,000

If he is able to post bail, the defendant is ordered to find someplace else to live (he and the victim lived in the same house). He also cannot leave the territory and he is not to make any direct or indirect contact with the victim or her family. The defendant will appear in High Court this morning for arraignment. The case was bound over after he waived his right to a preliminary examination last Friday.

THE CASE

It was the victim’s mother who reported the alleged incident to the Dept of Human and Social Services (DHSS) who in turn referred the matter to police. According to the victim’s mother, the 69-year-old suspect is her uncle and they live together in the same Faleniu house where the alleged crime occurred.

According to the government, the latest alleged incident was witnessed by the victim’s 15-year-old brother who told his mother about it. The boy told police that on the afternoon of Jan. 20th, while lying in the living room, he saw his uncle signaling to his sister (victim) to go in his bedroom and wait for him there. The boy said he had been trying for a week to figure out why his sister always enters the defendant’s bedroom.

According to him, one day early last month, while his sister was taking a shower, he noticed his uncle coming out of the bathroom. The boy said he didn’t really think anything of it, until he saw his uncle signaling to his sister to go in his room. That’s when he told his mom and DHSS was notified.

The boy mentioned to investigators that on Jan. 20th, he saw his uncle and his little sister engaged in a quiet conversation like adults and he suspected that something was going on.

The victim was interviewed by police in the presence of her mother.

According to the girl, it was Jan. 3rd (the defendant’s birthday) that she saw her uncle drinking beer inside their home. She was in the shower, her mother was in the outdoor kitchen, and there was nobody in the house.

The victim told police that while standing naked in the shower, she was shocked when her uncle opened the bathroom door and made his way into the shower. She said she didn’t know what to do, as her uncle held her hands and told her to come with him in his bedroom so he can make love to her.

The victim said she refused and tried to remove her hands from his, but her uncle grabbed her, pulled her head down, and forced her to perform oral sex on him. The second alleged incident occurred the very next day inside the same house.

According to the victim, she was in the shower when her uncle opened the bathroom door. Again, the suspect approached her and asked if they can go in his bedroom and do bad things. The girl claims that her uncle forcibly took her in his room where he raped her.

Afterwards, the victim told police, she was in pain and was unable to walk so she had to lie on the floor in the suspect’s room for a moment, until her mother called out for her.

When confronted by police, the defendant admitted to taking the victim twice into his bedroom but says he never raped her. According to him, he was drinking on his birthday when he heard the victim taking a shower. He said he walked into the bathroom and saw the victim standing there, naked. And the devil took over his thoughts and tempted him to do something bad to her.

He said he told the victim to go in his bedroom and she did. While in there, all they did was play around - naked - until her mother called out for her. The defendant allegedly told police that the second incident transpired after the victim came to his room asking for money. According to him, before he handed the money over, he and his niece both removed their clothes and were just having fun in his bedroom.

Again, the suspect told investigators he did not rape the victim. He said that after they were done playing around in his room, he gave the victim $2, told her to leave, and then he slept.