Oteta Kristina Kitiona, a 20-year-old soccer player who participated in Samoa’s failed 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign, is facing serious allegations involving a 14-year-old boy.
The Bluffdale Police Department in Utah has charged Kitiona with taking advantage of the minor, whose identity remains protected, on multiple occasions in 2024, when she was 19.
Some netizens, however, pointed to details in the case suggesting the boy was a “willing participant.”
While some argued that two teenagers being in a physical relationship is “not a crime by any means,” others contended that, if the genders were reversed, “the accused would have been in jail by now.”
A female Samoan soccer star was accused of misconduct with a teenager
Kitiona debuted for Samoa on February 27 in a match against New Zealand before being taken off in the 66th minute. Samoa lost 8-0.
She then played 62 minutes in a 1-0 loss to American Samoa on March 2.
On March 5, she entered the Samoa vs. Solomon Islands game in the 68th minute. The match ended in Samoa’s favor, 2-0.
Kitiona was charged with distributing material harmful to a minor, a third-degree felony, and three counts of unlawful s**ual activity with a minor while under the age of 21 on Tuesday, May 5, according to Daily Mail.
Per a probable cause statement obtained by the outlet, the supposed victim in the case is referred to as DL.
He is described as being 5’9” tall and weighing 135 pounds, with braces.
He alleged Kitiona would come to his house “two to three times a week” between June and October 2024 to get intimate.
Kitiona left for Utah to attend Bellevue College in Washington for a month between October and November, but she allegedly resumed her misbehavior upon her return.
The teen claimed Kitiona would send him indecent photos and videos and would ask him to return the favor, which he did.
The complaint later revealed the boy admitted to entering a “relationship” with Kitiona around May.
Social media users debated the degree of Kitiona’s crime, questioning the 14-year-old’s role in it
“It was so traumatic for him, he let her come back from college and do it all over again? The math ain’t mathing,” one noted, while another hypothesized, “The guy did not turn her in. His parents probably saw something on his phone.”
“14 and 19 years old. That’s a high school freshman and a high school senior. It’s normal, let it go,” commented a third.
Several others questioned what relevance mentioning the boy’s braces had to the case.
“I guess they meant to emphasize how young he really was by using that,” one offered.
Users aiming to highlight exploitation committed by women wrote, “He should have chosen the bear.”
It referred to a viral thought experiment that originated on TikTok in 2024, in which women, when asked whether they would rather be stuck in a forest with a man or a bear, often chose the latter, arguing that the animal would be less predatory than men.
“This is exactly why men don’t say anything,” a separate user wrote.
Another demanded Kitiona receive “the same sentence” any man in her place would.
Oteta Kitiona has not been arrested but is set to appear in court next month
On the same day the declaration of probable cause regarding Kitiona was filed, a summons was issued for her to appear before a magistrate at Salt Lake City District Court on June 6.
A partial no-contact order was also proposed, stating Kitiona would not be allowed to “harass, telephone, contact, or otherwise communicate directly or indirectly” with the minor.
She would also be ordered to stay away from the boy’s home and school.
The age of consent in Utah is 18.
State law, notably, reduces the severity of the offense when the accused is under 21 years old, as in Kitiona’s case, and the age gap with the victim is not considered significant.
Kitiona’s charges noted that “she was less than four years older than the minor at the time the s**ual activity occurred.”
This means she could face a lighter sentence if convicted.
“This is so disgusting,” a social media user said
