Provo police deny claims officers urged woman not to file report against BYU quarterback

The Provo Police Department denied claims made in a civil lawsuit that their officers urged a woman not to file a report or press charges in an alleged rape because it was a BYU football player.

A civil lawsuit filed in Third Judicial District Court Wednesday claimed BYU starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff sexually assaulted, strangled, bit and raped the woman.

The lawsuit alleged the woman “was connected” with the police department and told them about the assault, but did not share Retzlaff’s name. It did not give details about how she was connected with the department, whether it was a phone call, in person interview or something else.

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Paperwork filed with the court said the woman was afraid that if an officer spoke to the football player, they would share her name with him.

The woman, only identified as Jane Doe, said an officer later reached out to ask again for the name, saying a different complaint was filed against a football player, and they wanted to know if it was the same person.

After sharing Retzlaff’s name, the lawsuit claimed the officer “then encouraged her not to do anything because, as they claimed, ‘sexual assault victims never get justice.’”

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the police department denied that claim.

“From everything we have reviewed, this is not true,” they said.

Officials acknowledged the details of the same were similar to a rape allegation made by an anonymous person, but they could not verify if the unnamed person in the court filings was the same individual.

They said the paperwork filed with the court was similar enough that it could have been the same case.

In that case, department officials said they received a phone report on November 27, 2023. They said that woman was “treated with courtesy and care.”

Caption:

A Salt Lake County woman has filed a civil lawsuit accusing BYU starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff of sexual assault. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Third Judicial District Court. Retzlaff has not been criminally charged. (KUTV)

They said the woman had several opportunities to give them the identity of her alleged abuser but would not do so.

Police gathered other evidence in the case and concluded there were “no actionable leads.”

Officials said victim advocates contacted the woman several times but there was no response.

“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,” the department said in their statement.

They said, if it was the same case, the woman still had the option to come forward to make a statement and continue a criminal investigation.

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