Justice for Angie & Tommy
Donation protected
Most of you know Angie & Tommy, and for those who don’t, I want to tell you about them. My smart, brave and incredibly beautiful sister has been with Tommy for the past 4 years, and for those of you have been around long enough to see them grow together as a couple, you know that they are THE ideal power couple. For myself, I have always looked up to my big sister. She continues to inspire me to better myself, to challenge myself, and to be both a strong and independent woman, especially in the face of adversity. Unfortunately, some of you would also know that Angie & Tommy have been through an extremely difficult year following the rape of my sister during what was meant to be one of their many, amazing holidays together.
I’m starting this campaign to help them out financially, because if it isn’t enough to see them both have to deal with this trauma, I also have to see them financially suffer all because of one evil person. I am not here to tell you what happened. Instead I am going to share Angie & Tommy’s story because they have chosen to tell the world what happened to them not just to try and support themselves financially, but to empower themselves and to hopefully receive the justice they sorely deserve. Angie, Tommy, myself, and both our families would be forever grateful for any contributions you can make towards this campaign, no matter how big or small. Your generosity will undoubtedly change their lives.
Here is their story, as told by my sister. Just a warning that some people may find the following events distressing to read:
“In September 2015, Tom and I took a holiday to Samoa. For the most part, our holiday was incredible. But our holiday quickly became a nightmare. On September 23rd, our last day in Samoa, we retired to our room at the Lupe Sina Tree Resort after a big day of game fishing. We set our alarm to 2am the next morning, as we were catching a flight to Sydney that morning at 6:15am. We had arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 3am. After repacking our bags and getting our travel documents in order, we went to bed to get a few hours of sleep before our trip home. This is my account of what then followed.
The alarm on my phone went off at 2am on September the 24th, and we complained about having to get up so early.
I got out of bed, half naked, to head to the shower. As I entered the lounge area in our room, I turned on the light. I saw a Samoan man, crouched in the corner. I screamed as loud as I could, and I froze. The man came towards me with a pair of large dress scissors raised high and straight at me. My screams got Tom out of bed and he quickly came to my aid, only to be faced with a very aggressive figure as the scissors were directed towards him. Realising the immediate danger, we put our hands out, half trying to calm the man and half to protect ourselves. In fractured English, he told us to be quiet or he would kill us. He backed us into the bedroom, turned off the lights, and made sure the front door to the room was locked. We were both forced to the floor. He proceeded to ask us for money. We handed over all the cash we had, but he only wanted the Samoan currency. He said that wasn’t enough. Using our logic, we knew nothing we had was worth our lives, so we handed anything of value over. My phone, iPad, Tom’s SkullCandy headphones. I even offered my SLR camera, but he didn’t seem too interested in that. He searched our bags for valuable items. I remember begging him to not take our passports. Without those, getting home would be so much harder.
We were then instructed to lie face down on the bed. I was crying uncontrollably by this stage. He kept telling us to be quiet, or he would kill us. He even said he would shoot us if we didn’t listen. He then tore up our clothes and used them to tie up Tom, very, very tightly. He bound Tom hands and feet, gagged him, then covered his head with one of my jumpers. He tied my hands behind my back. He asked me why he shouldn’t kill us. Why shouldn’t we die. I answered because we have too much to live for. All I could think about was my family and friends, and how I might never see them again. I begged for our lives. I told Tom I love him. Over and over. I was then I felt his hand run along my back. I was shaking like a leaf. He asked me why I was crying, like he was taking pleasure in my terror. I told him I was scared. It was then that I was sexually assaulted, flipped on my back and raped. He finished, he tried to wipe me clean, and replaced my underpants.
While I was still lying there on my back, he picked up my iPad, and instructed me to put in my pin number with my toes (my hands were still bound). Once he accessed my iPad, he sat it open on my belly, and I watched him delete all the photos stored on it. Here was his error. Though we were in the dark, the iPad illuminated his face very well, which he didn’t even attempt to cover. I lay there and studied his face. Through all the terror I was feeling, I forced myself to study his face, looking for any defining features. I told myself to remember everything I could. I still see his face to this day. He finished with my iPad. He flipped me back over, tied my feet and gagged me. This is it, I thought, we are going to die. I kept telling Tom over and over how much I loved him, muffled through my gag. All the while we were taunted with death. He pulled the doona over both Tom and I. I was just waiting, waiting for those scissors to go straight into my back. I heard him say to Tom, “I’m sorry brother, please forgive me. I am hungry.”
We could hear him collecting up the money and walking around the room. It was then we heard a call coming up the stairs to our room…a familiar “Tommy, Angie” in a Samoan woman’s voice. It was Vittoria, the hotel manager. As we hadn’t shown up for our cab, she came to check on us. We heard her coming up the stairs, so we started to yell under our gags. She must have seen the intruder through the glass door, because we heard the door open, screams and a scuffle. The man fled. Vittoria uncovered us, untied us and called the police. We subsequently missed our flight home. What was to follow was an agonising 48 hours of being in hospital, having a rape kit performed on me, giving statements, organising our way home (with the help of the Australian Federal Police and the Australian High Commission) and waiting to leave. We both have never wanted to come home so desperately.
**********************************************************************************
After being presented with a series of photos, I was able to identify our attacker. The alleged offender is an escaped prisoner from the Tafa’igata prison. The Samoan police re-captured him on the 4th of October 2015. He has pleaded not guilty to the rape (despite initially entering a full confession), which mean this goes to trial in Samoa on the 27th June 2016. We have been asked to present as witnesses at court in Samoa, and have applied to do this via video link. However it still remains unclear if we can do this or if we have to return to Samoa. He has escaped again twice since he attacked us back in September. Once on the 1st December 2015, in which it took the police two days to re-capture him. He then escaped again in April this year, this time assaulting a man with a machete to the head. He has since been captured. We want to raise money on Go Fund Me for a few reasons. Firstly, so Tom and I can take leave from work (without pay, as neither of us have enough annual leave to take) for 1 month over the trial date and have enough money to pay for our rent, bills, living expenses etc. We are not looking to match our usual wage, just to have enough to get by.
We would also like to pay Mum back for the lawyer she has had to hire to help us with our trial. She has been like a lioness with her cub through this. There is also the indefinite amount of psychology appointments we are attending due to both being diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Should we have to return to Samoa, although Tom and I will have our flights covered, our families will not. So we don’t have to do this alone, we’d like to get enough money for return flights for both of our families to Samoa. There would also be other travel costs associated with this (accommodation etc). Our goal, from a rough estimate of what all the above would cost, is $23,000 AUD. We understand that we probably won’t reach that target, but any amount would help greatly.
Money certainly won’t erase what happened to us, nor will it speed up our healing. But it will take away any financial pressure we feel over what is going to be very traumatic and stressful time for both Tom and I, as we try to find some justice for the evil that we were dealt. And most importantly, it will put this man behind bars, where he belongs, for a very long time.”
It should be noted that Angie and Tommy contacted the Victims of Crime organisation to seek compensation. They were told they would not be able to receive any, as the crime occurred outside of Australia. Compensation from Samoa is highly unlikely as they are classified as a developing country.
I’m starting this campaign to help them out financially, because if it isn’t enough to see them both have to deal with this trauma, I also have to see them financially suffer all because of one evil person. I am not here to tell you what happened. Instead I am going to share Angie & Tommy’s story because they have chosen to tell the world what happened to them not just to try and support themselves financially, but to empower themselves and to hopefully receive the justice they sorely deserve. Angie, Tommy, myself, and both our families would be forever grateful for any contributions you can make towards this campaign, no matter how big or small. Your generosity will undoubtedly change their lives.
Here is their story, as told by my sister. Just a warning that some people may find the following events distressing to read:
“In September 2015, Tom and I took a holiday to Samoa. For the most part, our holiday was incredible. But our holiday quickly became a nightmare. On September 23rd, our last day in Samoa, we retired to our room at the Lupe Sina Tree Resort after a big day of game fishing. We set our alarm to 2am the next morning, as we were catching a flight to Sydney that morning at 6:15am. We had arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 3am. After repacking our bags and getting our travel documents in order, we went to bed to get a few hours of sleep before our trip home. This is my account of what then followed.
The alarm on my phone went off at 2am on September the 24th, and we complained about having to get up so early.
I got out of bed, half naked, to head to the shower. As I entered the lounge area in our room, I turned on the light. I saw a Samoan man, crouched in the corner. I screamed as loud as I could, and I froze. The man came towards me with a pair of large dress scissors raised high and straight at me. My screams got Tom out of bed and he quickly came to my aid, only to be faced with a very aggressive figure as the scissors were directed towards him. Realising the immediate danger, we put our hands out, half trying to calm the man and half to protect ourselves. In fractured English, he told us to be quiet or he would kill us. He backed us into the bedroom, turned off the lights, and made sure the front door to the room was locked. We were both forced to the floor. He proceeded to ask us for money. We handed over all the cash we had, but he only wanted the Samoan currency. He said that wasn’t enough. Using our logic, we knew nothing we had was worth our lives, so we handed anything of value over. My phone, iPad, Tom’s SkullCandy headphones. I even offered my SLR camera, but he didn’t seem too interested in that. He searched our bags for valuable items. I remember begging him to not take our passports. Without those, getting home would be so much harder.
We were then instructed to lie face down on the bed. I was crying uncontrollably by this stage. He kept telling us to be quiet, or he would kill us. He even said he would shoot us if we didn’t listen. He then tore up our clothes and used them to tie up Tom, very, very tightly. He bound Tom hands and feet, gagged him, then covered his head with one of my jumpers. He tied my hands behind my back. He asked me why he shouldn’t kill us. Why shouldn’t we die. I answered because we have too much to live for. All I could think about was my family and friends, and how I might never see them again. I begged for our lives. I told Tom I love him. Over and over. I was then I felt his hand run along my back. I was shaking like a leaf. He asked me why I was crying, like he was taking pleasure in my terror. I told him I was scared. It was then that I was sexually assaulted, flipped on my back and raped. He finished, he tried to wipe me clean, and replaced my underpants.
While I was still lying there on my back, he picked up my iPad, and instructed me to put in my pin number with my toes (my hands were still bound). Once he accessed my iPad, he sat it open on my belly, and I watched him delete all the photos stored on it. Here was his error. Though we were in the dark, the iPad illuminated his face very well, which he didn’t even attempt to cover. I lay there and studied his face. Through all the terror I was feeling, I forced myself to study his face, looking for any defining features. I told myself to remember everything I could. I still see his face to this day. He finished with my iPad. He flipped me back over, tied my feet and gagged me. This is it, I thought, we are going to die. I kept telling Tom over and over how much I loved him, muffled through my gag. All the while we were taunted with death. He pulled the doona over both Tom and I. I was just waiting, waiting for those scissors to go straight into my back. I heard him say to Tom, “I’m sorry brother, please forgive me. I am hungry.”
We could hear him collecting up the money and walking around the room. It was then we heard a call coming up the stairs to our room…a familiar “Tommy, Angie” in a Samoan woman’s voice. It was Vittoria, the hotel manager. As we hadn’t shown up for our cab, she came to check on us. We heard her coming up the stairs, so we started to yell under our gags. She must have seen the intruder through the glass door, because we heard the door open, screams and a scuffle. The man fled. Vittoria uncovered us, untied us and called the police. We subsequently missed our flight home. What was to follow was an agonising 48 hours of being in hospital, having a rape kit performed on me, giving statements, organising our way home (with the help of the Australian Federal Police and the Australian High Commission) and waiting to leave. We both have never wanted to come home so desperately.
**********************************************************************************
After being presented with a series of photos, I was able to identify our attacker. The alleged offender is an escaped prisoner from the Tafa’igata prison. The Samoan police re-captured him on the 4th of October 2015. He has pleaded not guilty to the rape (despite initially entering a full confession), which mean this goes to trial in Samoa on the 27th June 2016. We have been asked to present as witnesses at court in Samoa, and have applied to do this via video link. However it still remains unclear if we can do this or if we have to return to Samoa. He has escaped again twice since he attacked us back in September. Once on the 1st December 2015, in which it took the police two days to re-capture him. He then escaped again in April this year, this time assaulting a man with a machete to the head. He has since been captured. We want to raise money on Go Fund Me for a few reasons. Firstly, so Tom and I can take leave from work (without pay, as neither of us have enough annual leave to take) for 1 month over the trial date and have enough money to pay for our rent, bills, living expenses etc. We are not looking to match our usual wage, just to have enough to get by.
We would also like to pay Mum back for the lawyer she has had to hire to help us with our trial. She has been like a lioness with her cub through this. There is also the indefinite amount of psychology appointments we are attending due to both being diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Should we have to return to Samoa, although Tom and I will have our flights covered, our families will not. So we don’t have to do this alone, we’d like to get enough money for return flights for both of our families to Samoa. There would also be other travel costs associated with this (accommodation etc). Our goal, from a rough estimate of what all the above would cost, is $23,000 AUD. We understand that we probably won’t reach that target, but any amount would help greatly.
Money certainly won’t erase what happened to us, nor will it speed up our healing. But it will take away any financial pressure we feel over what is going to be very traumatic and stressful time for both Tom and I, as we try to find some justice for the evil that we were dealt. And most importantly, it will put this man behind bars, where he belongs, for a very long time.”
It should be noted that Angie and Tommy contacted the Victims of Crime organisation to seek compensation. They were told they would not be able to receive any, as the crime occurred outside of Australia. Compensation from Samoa is highly unlikely as they are classified as a developing country.
Organizer
Jessica Jackson
Organizer
Battery Point, TAS