Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man who stopped by the District Court yesterday morning to visit the Probation Office was served a copy of an arrest warrant and subsequently arrested on allegations that he sexually abused his girlfriend’s niece.

Été Aumua made his initial appearance before Judge Elvis P. Patea and bond has been set at $10,000.

He is charged with one count of sodomy, a class B felony, punishable by imprisonment between 5-15 years; and one count of first degree sexual abuse, a class D felony, punishable by up to 5 years in jail, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

If Mr. Aumua is able to post bond, he is ordered to remain law abiding, not leave or attempt to leave the territory, and he is not to make any direct or indirect contact with the government’s witnesses, including the victim and her family.

Preliminary examination is this Friday, July 26th.

THE CASE

The government claims that on the morning of June 10th, the victim, 16, walked into the DPS Tafuna Substation to report that her aunt’s boyfriend, Ete Aumua, sexually touched her inside their Iliili home.

The victim told police that on the night of June 9, 2019 she heard her aunt and Aumua having a verbal argument regarding their relationship. The victim said she was sleeping in her room but was awakened by the argument.

A few moments later, said the victim, her aunt entered her room to look for her shoes. Thereafter, her aunt left the house, leaving her home alone with Aumua who sat in the living room while she went back to sleep.

The victim told police that Aumua started calling her name, asking her to come hang out with him in the living room, but she didn’t respond; instead, she continued to lie in bed.

The girl said she was surprised when she woke up and saw Aumua laying on her hand, with his hand touching her chest and moving down to her private parts.

The victim said she sat up and tried to push Aumua away and at the same time, she screamed; however, Aumua was too strong and didn’t stop.

The victim said she was finally able to push Aumua away and walked out of the room into the living room. Aumua allegedly followed the victim and tried to stop her from leaving the house. He tried to grab her hand and begged her to go back into the room.

The victim told police that she exited the house to go look for her aunt, but Aumua followed her. The victim was able to locate her aunt, who was sitting outside of the house, in front of their family’s sewing shop.

The victim said she asked her aunt why she had left her alone in the house with her boyfriend, before telling her what happened.

The girl said that while she was talking to her aunt, Aumua arrived and tried to change the subject. The victim’s aunty confronted Aumua about what her niece had told her, and Aumua denied it all.

The victim also confronted Aumua about what he did to her and Aumua continued to deny any wrongdoing.

The very next morning, the victim went to police to file her complaint.

The victim told police that this isn’t the first time Aumua had done this to her.

According to her, a week before this alleged incident, she was surprised when Aumua touched her shoulders and her butt in a sexual manner. She said Aumua told her that he wanted to talk to her privately.

On a separate occasion on that same date, the victim said Aumua touched her chest while she was sitting in the living room.

Police went looking for Aumua at work but he was not there.

Weeks passed before police were able to speak to Aumua, who was told to stop by the Tafuna Substation to discuss the allegations against him.

When questioned by police, Aumua said that when he entered the room, the victim was sleeping on her bed facing up. He then jumped on the bed, and laid beside the girl, then touched her chest and private parts.

Furthermore, Aumua told police that the victim asked him to come to her room when his girlfriend left the house that night, and she did not scream when he touched her.