A former Department of Public Safety officer at the Juvenile Detention Center Okesene Alo will serve 27 years in jail for crimes committed while he was guarding juvenile detainees at the facility.
His sentencing last Friday had been continued from the week before after the Chief Justice Michel Kruse asked attorneys to provide submissions on mandatory sentencing for the drug laws that the defendant committed.
Alo was convicted of unlawful possession of marijuana, unlawful possesson of methamphetamine and two counts of possession of methamphetamine and marijuana with intent to distribute, two counts of permitting a minor to escape, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and deviate sexual assault.
The Samoa News quotes Chief Justice Kruse stating during sentencing that the victims in the defendant’s actions were young children ordered by the court to be held at the Juvenile Detention Center so they could redeem themselves and learn how to restart a new chapter in life.
However Alo in his failure to fulfill his duty took advantage of them and used them to perform illegal activities.
Alo was sentenced to one year for each of the three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, ten years for
unlawful possesiion of methamphetamine, 20 years for possession with intent to distribute, 7 years for each of the two counts of permitting escape of a minor.
All these sentences are to be served concurrently which means he would serve 20 years total.
For the charge of deviate sexual assault, Alo was sentenced to 7 years in jail to run consecutively with the first sentence.
Assisting Chief Jsutice Kruse in the case were Judges Mamea Sala and Tunupopo Alalafaga.
