24-05-2025
What the police report made by Jake Retzlaff's accuser says
The Provo Police Department released a report Friday made by a woman alleging she was sexually assaulted while on a date with a man she declined to name but police say is likely the incident referred to in a civil lawsuit she filed against BYU quarterback Jake Ratzleff.
Along with the incident report, which was made public as a result of a Deseret News request under Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act, police provided a letter of explanation.
On Wednesday, a woman identified in court documents as Jane Doe A.G. filed a civil lawsuit in Salt Lake City against Ratzleff alleging he 'raped, strangled and bit' her in his apartment on Nov. 22, 2023.
Mark Baute, an attorney for Ratzleff, issued a statement Wednesday saying Retzlaff is 'factually innocent' and that he will 'establish Jake's innocence through the judicial system.'
Ratzleff has not been criminally charged.
Retzlaff's name does not appear in the police report released Friday. The woman's name is redacted in the report.
The officer who took the woman's report over the phone on Nov. 27, 2023, noted that she was willing to describe the events that took place, but hesitated at identifying the suspect.
According to the report, she 'described her male friend as a 20-year-old man who she had known since childhood.' She told police they went on a 'date recently, where she went to his house.'
At some point, they started kissing and he bit her lip in 'such a way that it kept her mouth shut.' She told the officer that despite not taking any 'unusual substances,' she began to lose consciousness and 'blacked out' several times, according to the report.
'She mentioned that his hand went around her neck for a bit. She recalled waking up and leaving after blacking out,' the report says. 'When asked directly, she stated that the encounter was not consensual 'that I can remember.''
The woman described that man as having dark hair but hesitated to describe him in greater detail and told the officer she wanted to wait a few days to think about identifying him.
The report says she expressed apprehension about the possibility that he would find out that she had called police and the officer encouraged her to call as soon as she felt comfortable.
The officer forwarded the case to Provo's special victims unit. The officer also met with a forensic nurse at American Fork Hospital on Nov. 27, 2023, where she gave the officer a sexual assault evidence kit, which the officer took to the police station and placed into evidence, the report says.
On Nov. 30, 2023, another Provo officer reviewed the case and noted that the officer who took the initial report indicated that the woman was reluctant to provide suspect information and would contact police if she decided to go further. Police closed the case pending her providing more information and desiring to move forward with the investigation, the report says.
In its public records request, the Deseret News sought all Provo police reports relating to Jake Ratzleff from 2023 through 2025. The letter of explanation that accompanied the release of the incident report says the department has no such records in its system nor does it have any police reports from that time period alleging a sexual assault by an unnamed BYU football player.
'We are, of course, aware of the recent news coverage of a lawsuit filed by a woman with the initials A.G. stating that she was sexually assaulted in November 2023 by Jake Retzlaff,' according to the letter signed by Angela Galbraith, Provo Police records supervisor.
'Because the complaint alleged this assault had been reported to Provo Police, the department issued a press release indicating that they believe they have identified the relevant report.'
In her lawsuit, Jane Doe A.G. claims that after she reported the alleged sexual assault, Provo Police 'encouraged her not to do anything because, as they claimed, 'sexual assault victims never get justice.''
The police department in its Wednesday statement disputed the claim that an officer told the woman sexual assault victims don't get justice.
'From everything we have reviewed, this 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,' Provo police spokeswoman Janna-Lee Holland said in the statement.
Records show the department received a phone report on Nov. 27, 2023, from a woman with the initials A.G. who gave a similar account to the one in the lawsuit, according to Holland.
Holland said she was treated with 'courtesy and care' and given several opportunities to identify her abuser but declined to do so, and the case was subsequently closed. She said 'collected evidence was examined, and it revealed no actionable investigative leads.'
The department's victim advocates followed up several times to offer services but received no response, Holland said.
'Because the civil suit does not identify the victim, we cannot be certain our police report is the same incident referenced by the plaintiff, but it does seem likely given the information we have,' according to Holland.
