Jake Retzlaff, BYU quarterback, accused of sexual assault in new lawsuit

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FILE - Jake Retzlaff #12 of the Brigham Young Cougars walks onto the field before the NCAAF game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

A woman has accused Brigham Young University quarterback Jake Retzlaff of sexually assaulting her at his home in 2023, according to a new civil lawsuit filed in Utah. 

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the woman, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe A.G., reported the allegations to police at the time, though police in Provo, Utah say she declined to disclose Retzlaff’s name and the case was subsequently closed.  

What is Jake Retzlaff accused of? 

The backstory:

According to The Tribune, the woman had met Retzlaff on social media and went with a friend to his home on Nov. 22, 2023. The woman stayed at Retzlaff’s home after her friend left. 

The lawsuit states that she and Retzlaff started watching a movie in his room, but after they began kissing, she "did not want to do anything more," which angered Retzlaff. The woman said Retzlaff shouted at her.

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Jane Doe said she reached for her phone to call someone, but her phone was dead. She said she remained on his bed waiting for her phone to charge, and Retzlaff fell asleep. The woman said when he woke up, he started forcibly kissing and touching her, despite her repeated pleas for him to stop. She said he did not stop, and continued to have sex with her. According to USA Today, the lawsuit says Retzlaff "raped, strangled and bit her."

What did the police say? 

What they're saying:

According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe A.G. went to a hospital a few days later for a rape kit. From there, she connected with Provo police, but she said she didn’t initially name Retzlaff because she didn’t want him finding out that she had reported him because she "was scared and in shock."

The lawsuit said the woman eventually told police Retzlaffe’s name, but alleges an officer encouraged her not to pursue charges because "sexual assault victims never get justice."

The other side:

Provo police deny that the case was handled the way the lawsuit alleges. In a statement to LiveNow from FOX, police said they found a "possible correlating case report" from the same time period, but they "cannot be certain our police report is the same incident."

In that report, police said the woman declined to identify her abuser, and that a victim’s advocate reached out to the woman multiple times with no response. 

They denied that an officer told the woman that "there is no justice for victims of sexual abuse."

"We have a team of dedicated investigators and victim advocates whose sole mission is to provide justice to victims of sexual abuse," police said. "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."

What does Retzlaff say?

LiveNow from FOX also reached out to Retzlaff’s attorney Mark Baute, but he wasn’t immediately available for comment. In a statement, Baute told The Tribune Retzlaff is "factually innocent" and called him a "nice young man." Retzlaff has not been charged with a crime. 

"Jake’s focus this year will be on football," Baute’s statement continued. "We don’t try cases in the media, we will respect the process and establish Jake’s innocence through the judicial system."

Retzlaff is the first Jewish starting quarterback at Brigham Young University, which is supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retzlaff was the No. 1 rated junior college quarterback when he signed with BYU out of Riverside City College in 2023. 

The school said they take the allegations against Retzlaff "very seriously," but declined to comment further, citing federal and university privacy laws.