BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff named in sexual assault lawsuit
PROVO, Utah () — Brigham Young University's starting quarterback, , has been named in a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, May 21, claims Retzlaff, 22, sexually assaulted the victim, identified as 'Jane Doe,' when the two first met in person in November 2023. As of Wednesday afternoon, no criminal charges have been filed against Retzlaff.
According to the lawsuit, Retzlaff and the alleged victim began talking over social media the month before they met in person. After a month of trying to find a time to meet, the victim and her friends visited Retzlaff at his Utah County apartment.
'At some point, they began to kiss, but Jane Doe did not want to do anything more,' the lawsuit alleges. 'Retzlaff began escalating the situation, attempting to [touch her inappropriately.]'
'Shocking device' found during x-ray at Boise Airport
Jane Doe reportedly attempted to de-escalate the situation and wanted to leave, but said she 'was scared and felt like she could not get away.' The lawsuit claims Retzlaff became angry and started to shout at her and prevented her from leaving the apartment, later sexually assaulting her.
The lawsuit said the Jane Doe connected with the Provo Police Department, who allegedly encouraged her not to take action as 'sexual assault victims never get justice.' According to the lawsuit, the alleged victim has lived with trauma symptoms, including post-traumatic stress disorder in the year and a half since the incident.
ABC4 has reached out to BYU for comment regarding the lawsuit and has yet to hear back at the time of publication.
Retzlaff, who co-captains the BYU football team, was a key player during the Cougars' successful 2024 season in the Big 12 Conference. Retzlaff helped push the team to an 11-2 overall record, earning an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
The Cougars sealed their 11-win season with , led by Retzlaff, who completed 151 passing yards throughout the game.
Draper police investigating 'urban explorers' who climbed 16-story structure at aquarium after hours
Zeldin slams Whitehouse in heated exchange: Americans 'put President Trump in office because of people like you'
Trump confronts South African president over claims of 'white genocide'
Mace files resolution to expel McIver over ICE assault charges
Israel blocks aid to Gaza
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
23 minutes ago
South Africa accuses 6 of massive rhino horn trafficking scheme involving nearly 1,000 horns
LONDON -- Six suspects accused of orchestrating one of South Africa's largest rhino horn trafficking operations appeared in court Tuesday following a 7-year investigation that uncovered a scheme involving 964 rhino horns destined for illegal markets in Southeast Asia, authorities said. The arrests mark what officials are calling a "decisive victory" in the country's fight against international wildlife crime, as South Africa continues to battle a poaching crisis that claimed 420 rhinos in 2024 alone. Among those arrested was John Hume, 83, the controversial former owner of the world's largest rhino farm who once bred about 2,000 white rhinos, roughly an eighth of the global population, before selling his operation to African Parks in 2023. Alleged fraudulent permit scheme exposed The six suspects, aged between 49 and 84, surrendered to the South African Police's elite Hawks unit at Sunnyside Police Station before appearing in Pretoria Magistrates' Court on charges including fraud, theft and violations of environmental protection laws. Prosecutors allege the syndicate defrauded the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment by obtaining permits under false pretenses to buy and sell rhino horns domestically, while actually funneling them into illegal international markets. The investigation involved the SAPS Hawks' Wildlife Trafficking Section, the Department's enforcement unit known as the Green Scorpions, and the National Prosecuting Authority. Additional charges of racketeering and money laundering are under consideration, officials said. While South African law permits domestic trade in rhino horn with valid government permits, international commercial trade has been banned since 1977 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 'Rhino baron' among the accused Hume, once dubbed South Africa's "rhino baron," spent decades and an estimated $150 million advocating for legalizing international rhino horn trade, arguing that flooding the market with ethically harvested horns would reduce poaching. He was granted bail of 100,000 rand (about $5,600), while his co-accused received bail ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 rand. The other suspects include Hume's relative, Clive Melville, who was previously accused in 2019 of illegally transporting 167 rhino horns; attorneys Izak du Toit and Catharina van Niekerk; insurance broker Mattheus Poggenpoel; and game reserve manager Johannes Hennop. Poaching crisis continues The arrests come as South Africa, home to 80% of the world's remaining rhinos, grapples with an ongoing poaching crisis. Despite a 15% decrease in poaching deaths from 2023 to 2024, 103 rhinos were killed in the first three months of 2025, more than one per day, according to government figures. KwaZulu-Natal province has emerged as the epicenter, though dehorning initiatives showed promise after the province saw poaching losses drop nearly 30% in 2024. However, criminal syndicates quickly adapted, targeting even dehorned rhinos for their horn stumps by November 2024. The illegal trade is reportedly driven by demand in Vietnam and China, where the horns are used in traditional medicine despite no proven medicinal value. Rhino horn can fetch more than $60,000 per kilogram on the black market, a commodity more valuable than gold, platinum or diamonds, according to the United Kingdom's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. South African Environment Minister Dr. Dion George called the arrests "a powerful demonstration of South Africa's resolve to protect its natural heritage." "This complex investigation shows that our enforcement agencies will not hesitate to pursue those who plunder our wildlife for criminal profit," George said.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘I thought I was going to die there': Voices of migrants deported to a Salvadoran prison
CARACAS, Venezuela — In March, President Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to declare Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang a foreign terrorist group. Shortly after, the U.S. sent more than 250 Venezuelans who it said were a part of the gang to El Salvador, where they were jailed for months in one of the country's most notorious prisons, the Terrorism Confinement Center, also known as CECOT. Many of the men insist that they have no ties to the gang and were denied due process. After enduring months in detention, the men were sent home in July as part of a prisoner exchange deal that included Venezuela's release of several detained Americans. Venezuela's attorney general said interviews with the men revealed 'systemic torture' in the Salvadoran prison, including daily beatings, rancid food and sexual abuse. The men have been adjusting to life back in Venezuela, which most fled because of their home country's political and economic instability. The Times photographed four of the Venezuelans — Arturo Suárez, Angelo Escalona, Frizgeralth Cornejo and Ángelo Bolívar — as they got reacquainted with their families and life outside prison. Suárez, a musician, was detained in North Carolina while gathered with friends to record a music video. Ten people were arrested that day. Inside the Salvadoran prison, he said, music was forbidden and guards beat him repeatedly for singing. But he refused to stay silent. From his cell, he wrote a song that spread from cell to cell, becoming an anthem of hope for the Venezuelans imprisoned with him. 'From Cell 31, God spoke to me,' the lyrics go in part. 'He said, son, be patient, your blessing is coming soon…. Let nothing kill your faith, let nothing make you doubt because it won't be long before you return home.' Escalona had turned 18 just three months before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained him in the same raid that swept up his friend Suárez, the musician. His dream was to become a DJ, and Escalona had saved up to buy equipment that he showed Suárez just before they were arrested. He had no tattoos, no criminal record and was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, he said. When the deportation flight landed in El Salvador, he and the other Venezuelans tried to resist being taken off the plane. 'We all fastened our seat belts because we're Venezuelans — we weren't supposed to be there' in El Salvador, he said. 'But the Salvadoran police boarded the plane and started beating the people in the front.' In mid-2024, Frizgeralth Cornejo made the long trek through the Darién Gap, the dangerous jungle separating Central and South America and made his way north with three friends. Hoping to obtain asylum in the United States, he had applied for an appointment with immigration officials through Customs and Border Protection's CBP One app. But when Cornejo, 26, presented himself at the border, officials accused him of gang affiliation because of his tattoos. Everyone else in his group was allowed through, but not him. Bolívar was living in Texas when he was arrested by ICE agents and sent to El Salvador's CECOT prison. His many tattoos are part of a family legacy, one he shares with his mother, Silvia Cruz. His late father was a tattoo artist. His tattoos led to his imprisonment, he said, because authorities saw them as proof of membership in the Tren de Aragua gang. He is now back in the city of Valencia, about 80 miles east of Caracas.
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
How to outfox financial scammers
While financial scams have always been around, the variety of schemes that scammers employ to steal money are easily proliferated these days with the internet, social media, AI and crypto. Frauds and scams ranked No. 6 on the list of top consumer complaints last year, according to a recent report from the Consumer Federation of America. And the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center found that financial losses from cybercrime alone last year reached $16.6 billion – a 33% increase over 2023, with the vast majority of those losses coming from fraud. The average reported loss was $19,372. Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission noted that there was a more-than-four-fold increase between 2020 and 2024 in the number of reports of older Americans (age 60 and up) who said they'd been scammed out of $10,000 or more. The increase among those reporting that they'd lost over $100,000 was nearly seven-fold. Some people 'reported emptying their bank accounts and even clearing out their 401(k)s,' according to the agency. How can that happen? Any number of ways. And it's not just those over 60 who are susceptible. 'Any type of scam can happen to anyone,' said Emma Fletcher, senior data researcher in the consumer response division of the FTC. Imposter scams, where criminals masquerade as a trusted government agency or business, are among the most common. Whereas in the past a lot of scams tried to trick you into giving out your financial account numbers, many now seek to persuade you to move your money from one of your accounts to another type of account the scammers can access. 'The scams generally involve someone contacting consumers to alert them to a fake and urgent problem and then proceeding to try to persuade them to transfer their money to 'keep it safe' or for some other false reason,' the FTC said. Among the lies they might tell: Your Social Security number is linked to serious crimes. They're calling about suspicious activity on your account. Or you're in trouble with the law and have to post bond. Or they may offer something that is too good to be true, like easy money for a simple task. In exchange, they will ask you to pay something up front. Among other types of imposter scams are: Tech support scams: These can take the form of a pop-up security alert or audible alarm on your computer, purporting to be from Microsoft or Apple. The message might be that your computer has been hacked, and it will include a number to call for help. Sometimes the criminals will tell you they need to get remote access to your computer to fix something. Prize and sweepstakes scams: It's never the victim's lucky day when a scammer, posing as a representative of a sweepstakes or lottery entity, contacts you and tells you that you have to pay money to get your big prize. To help spot a potential financial scam, keep an eye out for common red flags: A government agency or company contacts you out the blue and makes threats and demands. There are currently imposters even pretending to represent the FTC itself. The FTC notes it 'will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize.' The same is true of any reputable business or government agency. You're told to go to a bitcoin ATM or make a bank transfer. Last year, the FTC found that 33% of older adults who reported losing $10,000 or more to an imposter scam said cryptocurrency was the method of payment requested, while 20% said they were asked to make a bank transfer and 16% said they were told to pay in cash. The most typical crypto payment involved sending someone to a bitcoin ATM, which some scammers may refer to as a 'safety locker,' Fletcher said. A case reported by CFA, for instance, involved a scam caller telling a consumer they were 'under arrest for failing to appear in court and was in contempt for missing jury duty. They insisted that the consumer needed to post bond, and the sheriff could not accept a check or credit card. Instead, the scammer directed them to a federal kiosk, specifically a Bitcoin ATM.' You're told to buy gift cards to pay the scammer: Another type of scheme has victims go to one or more stores to buy gift cards and then share the unique numbers and pin with the scammer. There are several ways to reduce your chances of being swindled. Do not engage. When you get an unsolicited call, text, social media message or email – or you get a strange warning alert on your computer – don't respond. Do not call the numbers suggested nor click on any links offered. Instead, if you're concerned it may be legitimate, call the actual entity the person contacting you claims to be from and do so by looking up that entity's real number and website yourself. 'Stop and verify. If it feels urgent, if they're rushing you and creating alarm, and you weren't expecting that contact, go directly to the company or agency that they're claiming to be and check it out,' Fletcher said. Never move money on demand. If you do end up engaging, a clear sign something is wrong is that you're told you have to move money fast. You may be told you have to transfer money out of an account that has been compromised in order to 'protect it.' Or to send money to get yourself out of some sort of (fake) trouble. No legitimate business, government agency or law enforcement entity would require this. Never pay money for the promise of getting more money. Anything financial that sounds too good to be true usually is. And that's especially the case when you're being told you need to pay something upfront to get something desirable in return (e.g. a commission, a job, prize winnings, etc.) Don't assume you're too smart to be duped. A scammer can catch anyone at a particularly vulnerable moment. For example, you might already be in a heightened emotional state when you get a call or text; or the focus of the scam may pertain to something you were just dealing with – e.g., you may have recently driven through a number of tolls when a scammer sends you a text about unpaid tolls. 'For each of us there is a scam that can get us at just the wrong moment,' Fletcher said. 'The scammer hijacks your ability to think things through clearly.' Make liberal use of the 'Block Caller' and 'Report Junk' functions on your phone: Getting a call or voicemail from a number you don't recognize should be blocked. The same goes for unsolicited texts and social media messages. And, the FTC warns, don't necessarily trust your caller ID function either, as scammers have been known to 'spoof' it – meaning they can falsify the information sent to your caller ID display. It can happen to anyone. If it happens to you, take steps to minimize your losses and help stop the scammers from victimizing others. Here is an FTC resource page that offers steps you can take if you think you paid a scammer or if the scammer has access to your personal information or to your computer. But, generally speaking you'll want to let your bank and/or other relevant entities such as the credit bureaus or gift card issuers know immediately. To minimize your losses, 'Time is of the essence,' Fletcher said. You also might want to consult a consumer law attorney who specializes in consumer rights and consumer fraud to see what your next best steps are. Then report your scam to the FTC at To prevent others from falling prey to the same type of scam, share your story with people you know. 'Pass on what you know. Research supports that word of mouth is the top way people hear about scams,' Fletcher said.
