Four corrections officers at the Juvenile Detention center have been charged with assaulting a juvenile detainee.
Nick Sekai, Maureen Saupo, Fiafia Fiafia, and Chris Auvele are charged with third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
On December 30, 2024, the alleged victim in the case and another juvenile detainee escaped from the Juvenile Detention Center. The juvenile who was allegedly beaten by the guards was captured on January 12 and taken back to the center.
According to court filings, on the day the detainee was returned to the center, corrections officers Sekai, Saupo, Fiafia, and one other—Vaipou Tiaua, who has yet to be charged—and an inmate identified as Lucky Faalavelave assaulted him.
The juvenile said that a corrections officer told him to remove his clothes and he was made to stand wearing only his boxers.
He alleged that Tiaua then cuffed him from behind and punched him twice, making him sit on the floor. It’s alleged that officer Sekai punched the detainee with his left hand. Afterwards, the inmate, Lucky Fa’alavelave pulled his leg and punched him twice on the nose.
According to court documents, the juvenile detainee said he crawled all over the place. He then heard the officers say to take him to another cell to separate him from the second detainee who had escaped. He saw the officers record a video while he was being moved to another cell. The juvenile further stated that while he was walking to the other room, Saupo hit him with an empty cracker bucket and the inmate slapped him three times.
Its alleged that on January 15, corrections officer Auvele punched the juvenile three times, causing his nose to bleed. The juvenile reported the beatings to Corrections Officer Sililo Atonio, who typed up a report. However, as of January 21, there was still no report filed on the alleged assaults.
Eventually, the matter was referred to DPS, and CID investigators conducted a probe, which resulted in the case now before the court.
