A Utah woman has alleged that BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff raped, strangled and bit her, and that she was encouraged by Provo police not to do anything after reporting it, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Utah state court.
The woman, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe A.G., alleges the assault took place at Retzlaff’s home in November 2023.
“A year and half after the rape and strangulation, Jane Doe A.G. continues to experience extreme post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma symptoms as she works to process what happened and move on,” the lawsuit states.
Retzlaff’s attorney, Mark Baute, said in a statement that his client is “factually innocent.”
“We look forward to proving that innocence,” Baute said. “Jake’s focus this year will be on football. We don’t try cases in the media, we will respect the process and establish Jake’s innocence through the judicial system.”
BYU said in a statement that it became aware of the lawsuit involving Retzlaff on Wednesday.
“The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX,” the school said. “Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment.”
The Provo Police Department released a statement Wednesday night, saying it received a call from a woman on Nov. 27, 2023, and she gave a similar account to what is alleged in the lawsuit.
“Because the civil suit does not identify the victim, we cannot be certain our police report is the same incident referenced by the plaintiff, but it does seem likely given the information we have,” the statement said.
Police there said the woman who called the department was “given several opportunities to identify her abuser” but declined to, and as a result, the case was closed. Evidence collected, the department said, was examined and led to “no actionable investigative leads.” The woman also did not respond to police when it attempted to follow up with her to offer any subsequent services.
“The civil suit states that Provo Police personnel discouraged the victim from proceeding, by telling her there is no justice for victims of sexual abuse,” the police statement said. “From everything we have reviewed, this is not true. We have a team of dedicated investigators and victim advocates whose sole mission is to provide justice to victims of sexual abuse. They do not send people away, warning them there is no justice for victims.”
The lawsuit says the woman and Retzlaff connected through social media in October 2023 and exchanged messages for a few weeks before he invited her to his home on or around Nov. 22. The woman and a friend arrived at Retzlaff’s home that night, and friends and teammates of Retzlaff were also present.
Later that evening, the woman’s friend left, after which Retzlaff and the woman started watching a movie, the lawsuit states.
“At some point they began to kiss, but Jane Doe A.G. did not want to do anything more,” the lawsuit states. “Retzlaff began escalating the situation … and Jane Doe A.G. tried to de-escalate the situation and attempted to slow things down, trying to pull away, and saying ‘wait.’ She did not want to do anything sexual with him.”
The lawsuit says the woman told Retzlaff “no” and “wait, stop,” but he continued to force himself on her. After she tried to get up out of the bed, the lawsuit alleges, in graphic detail, that Retzlaff put his hands around her neck and proceeded to rape her.
“It hurt so bad and caused so much pain that Jane Doe A.G. passed out,” the lawsuit states. “Jane Doe A.G. remembers tears rolling down her face as she fought to breathe.”
A few days later, the woman visited the hospital, where a rape kit was performed and pictures of her injuries were taken. The lawsuit says she was connected with Provo police but did not initially share Retzlaff’s name.
“At some point after speaking to the police, an officer reached out to her asking for the name because someone else filed a complaint against a football player and the police wanted to see if it was the same person,” the lawsuit said. “At that point Jane Doe A.G. shared Retzlaff’s name, and the Provo police then encouraged her not to do anything because, as they claimed, ‘sexual assault victims never get justice.'”
Retzlaff made four starts for BYU in November 2023, and he took over as the program’s starting quarterback for the 2024 season, serving as co-captain. He transferred to BYU from Riverside City College in Southern California.
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