A Salt Lake County woman said she was assaulted in 2023, which her lawsuit says she reported to police.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff (12) looks to pass during a game against the Utah Utes on Nov. 10, 2024. On Wednesday, a Salt Lake County woman filed a civil lawsuit alleging Retzlaff sexual assaulted her in 2023.
A Salt Lake County woman has accused Brigham Young University quarterback Jake Retzlaff of sexually assaulting her at his home, according to a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday that said she also reported to police.
The woman, identified in a 3rd District Court filing as Jane Doe A.G., alleges in the lawsuit that Retzlaff assaulted her in November 2023 after they had connected on social media and began messaging a month earlier. She is suing Retzlaff in civil court for alleged battery, assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and is asking for punitive damages from him.
Retzlaff has not been criminally charged as of Wednesday. His attorney, Mark Baute, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that his client is a “nice young man” who is “factually innocent.”
“Jake’s focus this year will be on football,” Baute wrote. “We don’t try cases in the media, we will respect the process and establish Jake’s innocence through the judicial system.”
Jane Doe A.G. said in her lawsuit that she was connected with police after she had a rape kit exam done at a hospital days after the alleged assault, but initially withheld Retzlaff’s name.
The woman did eventually tell Provo police Retzlaff’s name, the lawsuit states, after an officer asked her who he was because “someone else filed a complaint against a football player and the police wanted to see if it was the same person.” The lawsuit says the officer then encouraged her not to do anything, saying “sexual assault victims never get justice.”
BYU and Provo police did not respond to multiple requests for comment Wednesday.
According to the new lawsuit, Jane Doe A.G. and a friend had gone to Retzlaff’s home on Nov. 22, 2023, to hang out, and the woman stayed at the home after her friend left. She said she started to watch a movie with the quarterback in his room. They began kissing, but Jane Doe A.G. asserts in her lawsuit that she “did not want to do anything more.”
Retzlaff continued “escalating the situation,” the lawsuit alleges, when he tried touching her sexually and told her to give him oral sex.
“As the situation continued to escalate,” the lawsuit reads, “Jane Doe A.G. reacted in a way that made Retzlaff angry. He started to shout at her, and she reached for her phone to call someone, but her phone was dead.”
The woman was scared and panicking, she said in her lawsuit, and lay on his bed waiting for her phone to charge so she could call a friend. She alleges Retzlaff fell asleep, but soon woke up again and began forcefully kissing her and touching her. The woman said she told Retzlaff “stop” and “no” as he was grabbing a condom, but alleges in the lawsuit that he did not stop and had sex with her.
Jane Doe A.G. went to a hospital a few days later and had a rape kit examination completed, according to the lawsuit. She also said she reported to Provo police. But the lawsuit says she initially did not tell the officer whom she was accusing of assault, fearing that detectives would question him and share that she had reported him. “She was scared and in shock and not ready to confront him,” according to the lawsuit.
Retzlaff transferred from Riverside City College in California to BYU in 2023 and rose to national prominence last year.
In his first season as BYU’s starting quarterback, Retzlaff led the Cougars to an 11-2 record and had them ranked inside the top 10 in the country. Retzlaff is the first Jewish starting quarterback at BYU, a school operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his story attracted a devoted following.
