BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff accused of rape

SALT LAKE CITY – Jake Retzlaff, BYU’s star quarterback faces accusations of rape and assault out of a civil lawsuit filed in Utah’s Third District Court. 

The suit comes from an anonymous woman who claims Retzlaff forced her to have sex with him against her will at his Provo home in 2023.

She says she reported it to police after getting a rape kit done at the hospital a couple days later but withheld identifying her attacker because she says she was too intimidated.

Her lawsuit goes on to say she eventually offered the name when police told her another victim reported an assault involving a football player, but she claims the officer told her sex assault victims, “never get justice.”

She’s suing Retzlaff for punitive damages. 

An attorney who says he represents Retzlaff issued a statement saying his client is “factually innocent,” adding, “We look forward to proving that innocence.”

A statement from BYU about the lawsuit read, “BYU became aware today that a civil lawsuit involving Jake Retzlaff had been filed this morning. The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX. Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment.”

In a statement to KSL, Provo police read in part:

The civil suit includes enough detail of the alleged assault for the department to identify a possible correlating case report. Our records show that on November 27th , 2023, our department received a phone report from a woman with the initials A.G. who gave a similar account. She was treated with courtesy and care. The complainant in that case was given several opportunities to identify her abuser. She declined to do so, as is her right, and the case was subsequently closed.

The police department also said the accusation that an officer told the victim that there isn’t justice “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. Our Special Victims Unit investigations regularly result in criminal accountability for offenders. We hope the plaintiff chooses to make a statement to further the criminal investigation if desired. We will continue to assist and serve all victims of abuse,” the statement continued.

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