A former high school football star — who was featured in the 2015 Sundance Film Festival film, "In Football We Trust" — was sentenced to jail on Wednesday for a violent attack on his then-girlfriend.
Joemalone Tevita Kaufusi, 23, also known as Fihi Kaufusi, was charged last year in 2nd District Court with third-degree felony aggravated assault.
Charging documents state that on March 6, Kaufusi punched and slapped the woman, used a shoe and a chain during the assault, and broke out a car window during the episode.
In November, Kaufusi pleaded guilty to a lesser count of class A misdemeanor attempted aggravated assault, which carries a potential for up to a year in jail.
On Thursday, Judge Joseph Bean sentenced Kaufusi to spend 270 days in jail, and ordered him to serve the sentence concurrent to a 180-day jail sentence that was handed down in Davis County earlier this month. That case involved the same victim, who reported to police that Kaufusi had assaulted her on numerous occasions at her South Weber home. He eventually pleaded guilty to third-degree felony aggravated assault in the Davis County case.
"In Football We Trust" touches on immigrants' cultures, religion, poverty, race relations and gang life. The movie followed several high school students — including Kaufusi, who was a star lineman at Highland High School — for five years as they juggled identities as Polynesians, teenagers and football players.
The assault occurred while Kaufusi was enrolled at Weber State University, where he was a professional-sales major. A Weber spokesperson has said that Kaufusi played rugby, a club sport, but was not on the school's football team.
He was no longer enrolled at WSU, following a disciplinary committee's review of the March charges, but school officials have said they could not say whether he was suspended or expelled, due to student privacy rules.
jmiller@sltrib.com
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