A teenage girl led police to her accused rapist by using the ‘Find My iPhone’ app to locate her mobile phone, weeks after she was allegedly attacked and robbed.
The girl reported she was dragged into bushes and raped one evening late last year while walking home near Arrawarra Beach on the NSW north coast.
Her phone, as well as clothing and jewelry, were stolen during the alleged incident, according to police statements in court.
Detectives from the Coffs-Clarence district arrested 34-year-old Samoan fruit picker Vitale Tiole two days later and charged him with the alleged rape on November 10.
A teenager helped lead police to her accused rapist by using the ‘Find My iPhone’ app to locate her mobile phone, weeks after she was allegedly attacked and robbed. Fruit picker Vitale Tiole (above) was previously wrongly accused of the alleged rape
Mr Tiole spent two months in custody before all charges were dropped when police arrested another Samoan fruit picker, Agaalofa Agaalofa, over the alleged assault.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal the teenager used the ‘Find My iPhone’ app in the days and weeks after her alleged rape, but could not pick up a signal from her mobile phone.
Then, sometime in January, the phone search indicated the teen’s handset was in the Grafton area, about 50km northwest of Arrawarra, according to a source close to the investigation.
It is understood the mother of the alleged rape victim told police her daughter had found the mobile phone and they acted on that information.
The alleged victim had completed a rape kit after the alleged assault and detectives were awaiting DNA test results while Mr Tiole was in custody.
The girl reported she was dragged into bushes and raped one evening late last year while walking home near Arrawarra Beach on the NSW north coast. Fruit pickers are pictured near Arrawarra
A court heard that investigators traced the teenager’s phone to where Agaalofa was staying near Grafton and arrested the 25-year-old on January 16.
Agaalofa appeared in Coffs Harbor Local Court the following day charged with theft and his unconditional bail conditions were continued.
The same court later heard that Mr Tiole had been attacked by other inmates while held at the high-security Clarence Correctional Center before being released on January 10.
The source told Daily Mail Australia that police sought a DNA sample from Agaalofa and arrested him again on January 30.
Agaalofa was apprehended at Dirty Creek, about 12km northeast of Arrawarra, and this time he was charged with aggravated assault – deprivation of liberty, as well as aggravated robbery.
When he appeared in court the next day, prosecutor Jack Chaffey said the results of the DNA test had “significantly changed” the direction of the investigation.
Agaalofa (above) was apprehended at Dirty Creek, about 12km northeast of Arrawarra, and charged with aggravated assault – deprivation of liberty, as well as aggravated robbery
Sergeant Chaffey told the court the teenager’s mobile phone was taken during her alleged assault and traced to Agaalofa’s home.
Agaalofa’s DNA matched evidence collected from the rape kit completed by the teen, Sergeant Chaffey told the court.
The court also heard that a female DNA profile was found on clothing found at Agaalofa’s accommodation and identified by the alleged victim as hers.
Sergeant Chaffey said Agaalofa committed several “horrific” sex acts against the teenager during a prolonged attack, the ABC reported.
“The (alleged) victim made attempts to fight back and call for help but was physically overwhelmed,” Sergeant Chaffey told the court.
Agaalofa’s lawyer John Hennessy said his client had refuted the police statement of facts about the alleged rape and would contest the charges as he had applied for bail.
Vitale Tiole was living in this converted shipping container when he was arrested and wrongly accused of rape. Agaalofa Agaalofa, who lived nearby, has now been charged over the alleged attack
Mr Hennessy said Agaalofa had never met the teenager and had recently lived in the Grafton area where he picked berries.
Magistrate Hugh Donnelly remanded Agaalofa in custody after raising concerns about him failing to appear in court.
A day later, on February 1, Mr Tiole made his final appearance at Coffs Harbor Local Court, where all charges against the married father of four were dropped.
A NSW Police spokeswoman said the force could not comment on the role the teenager played in allegedly leading detectives to Agaalofa as the matter was before the courts.
At the time of the alleged rape, Agaalofa, Mr Tiole and hundreds of other seasonal workers were staying in temporary accommodation at Arrawarra Holiday Park.
Since 2019, fruit pickers granted work visas under the Pacific Australia Labor Mobility program have come to Arrawarra to pick berries at a nearby farm.
About 400 of them are packed into converted shipping containers and dongas as they work fields planted by Costa Berries in Corindi, about 5km north.
The majority of foreign workers are hired from the Pacific Islands, including Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati and Vanuatu, as well as Papua New Guinea and East Timor.
The employees are grouped in their accommodation by nationality and language.
Arrawarra is also a popular destination for surfers, backpackers and caravan holidaymakers who flock to the village for its idyllic waterfront location.
Locals have complained about cases of drunkenness and aggressive behavior by some seasonal workers, which they say has turned the place into a slum.
After the alleged rape, the migrant workers were removed from the holiday park and sent back to their home country or elsewhere in Australia.