Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 50-year-old man accused of sexually abusing his 15-year-old niece was arrested after authorities were tipped off by the victim’s aunty.

(In the interest of protecting the minor victim, Samoa News is withholding the name of the defendant, who is her uncle. The court affidavit provides the name of the defendant, but the victim is only referred to by her initials).

The defendant made his initial appearance in District Court two weeks ago. He later waived his right to a preliminary examination and the case was bound over to High Court where he entered a ‘not guilty’ plea during arraignment.

He is charged with sodomy; attempted rape; three counts of first degree sexual abuse — all felonies — and one misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child.

Bail is set at $20,000 and a pretrial conference is set for Nov. 8th

One of the conditions of release — if the defendant is able to post bail — is that he is to have no direct or indirect contact with the victim or any of the government’s witnesses.

THE CASE

It was the victim’s aunty (her mom’s sister) who notified police about the alleged abuse. According to the government, the defendant and the victim’s father are first cousins.

The aunty told police that her niece was seen at the defendant’s house last month and when she asked what she was doing there, the girl said her uncle (defendant) asked her to come over and cook for him because he is unable to walk due to a foot injury.

The aunty recalled that last month, her niece called and asked if she could pick her up. The woman said she and her husband took the victim to their house, where she opened up to them about what her uncle did to her one night in August. According to what the victim told her aunty, the defendant touched her breast and her private parts several times in his house and in his vehicle. She further claims that her uncle touched himself in front of her and made her watch.

The victim provided a Samoan written statement to police. According to her, the first alleged incident happened in July this year while she was asleep at home with her two younger sisters. She said her uncle came over, woke her up, and told her to come to his house to cook for him.

At that time, the girl alleges that her uncle touched her private parts through her clothing. She said she was afraid because her uncle threatened her, saying that if she told anyone, he would beat her with a hose.

The second alleged incident took place after the defendant was done watching an X-rated movie. According to the girl, her uncle threatened and forced her to take off her shorts, and he allegedly performed sex acts on her.

The girl said she cried in pain and told her sister, who advised her to tell their mother. The victim told police that she shared her story with another uncle (defendant’s brother) who apologized on behalf of his brother and assured the victim that he would speak to the defendant.

The victim told the defendant’s brother that the defendant sexually abused her after watching porn; and one night, he tried to rape her, but she cried. The girl said her mother was sleeping at the family guesthouse when her uncle allegedly did these things to her.

Police interviewed the defendant’s brother, who confirmed the girl’s story. He said the victim told him last month about his brother touching and rubbing her sexually. He said he told the victim to leave it to him, that he’d confront his brother about it and when he did, his brother told him that he won’t do such things to the victim anymore.

Police apprehended the defendant at his friend’s home and took him in for questioning. The defendant allegedly admitted to performing sexual acts on the victim between August and September this year. He further told police that the devil tempted him to do the things he did to his niece, and he fell for it because he’s so lonely — and he wanted someone to talk to and share his thoughts.