BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his home in a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday in Salt Lake County, Utah.
The accuser, identified only as Jane Doe A.G., claims she and Retzlaff first messaged on social media before meeting up in person. According to the suit obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune, she and a friend went to Retzlaff’s Provo home on Nov. 22, 2023, and she stayed at the house after her friend left.
A.G. says they then started kissing and while she “did not want to do anything more,” Retzlaff “escalat[ed] the situation” by groping her and demanding oral sex.
Despite her multiple protestations, Retzlaff “continued to escalate” before ultimately raping her, the lawsuit alleges.
A.G. says she went to the hospital days later and had a rape kit exam performed before reporting the incident to Provo police. She initially didn’t identify her alleged attacker out of fear investigators would tip him off about her report.
“She was scared and in shock and not ready to confront him,” the lawsuit reads.
She later gave police his name because “someone else filed a complaint against a football player and the police wanted to see if it was the same person,” claims the the suit, which doesn’t specify whether that second complaint was made against Retzlaff.
A.G. is suing the quarterback for battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and is seeking punitive damages.
As of Wednesday, Retzlaff had not been criminally charged and it’s unclear whether an investigation is underway. His attorney called him “factually innocent,” saying they “look forward to proving that innocence.”
Retzlaff, a junior college transfer from California, started 13 games for BYU last season.