Sex Offender Enters Plea Agreement

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The High Court yesterday accepted a plea deal for a 56-year-old man charged with multiple sexual crimes involving a minor.

Fa’alavelave Ati faces three counts of child molestation, sodomy and deviant sexual intercourse for alleged sexual acts on a 12-year-old girl who was attending White Sunday practice at a church in Poloa last year.

Under the agreement, the defendant is pleading guilty to sodomy while the remaining charges, child molestation and deviant sexual intercourse are dismissed.

Yesterday in court, Associate Justice Lyle Richmond asked Ati to explain what happened on October 9th the day before White Sunday,

The defendant recounted that he had drunk too much alcohol that day.

He said he was walking on the road and met the victim, then he did things to her.

Court documents say the defendant touched the girls breasts and private parts and allegedly threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

The victim told investigators that while the defendant was rubbing his hands on her private part she told the defendant to stop because what he was doing hurt her but he ignored her.

After he was taken into custody and asked if he knew why he was at the police station, the defendant said yes because of what he did to the girl.

He claimed he was tempted by the devil.

Sodomy is a Class B felony punishable by a maximum jail term of 15 years.

Ati will be sentenced April 6th.

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