Arizona QB Jayden de Laura settles sexual assault case from high school

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Jayden de Laura agreed to settle a civil lawsuit after pleading guilty in juvenile court in a 2018 sexual assault in Hawaii, court records say.

Wisconsin safety Kamo’i Latu also settled the case stemming from when he and de Laura were star football players at St. Louis High School in Honolulu.

De Laura and Latu reached a settlement and paid a woman who claimed the two raped her after a high school football game in Honolulu on Oct. 27, 2018, when she was about 17 years old, Hawaii News Now first reported Wednesday. She was named in the court documents. The Arizona Daily Star does not generally name alleged victims of sexual assault.

She filed the complaint on Dec. 2, 2021. According to the lawsuit, de Laura and Latu were charged with second-degree sexual assault and later pleaded guilty. Documentation of those charges is unavailable because all parties were minors and the case ran through juvenile court where the records are closed to the public.

De Laura’s attorney did not return messages seeking comment Wednesday and Thursday.

In court records, Latu and his attorneys said the encounter was consensual and initiated by the girl. De Laura filed no response to the plaintiff’s claim.

All parties involved “engaged in a mediations process” in December 2022 and settlements by de Laura and Latu’s families were reached for undisclosed amounts, according to the most recent court documents filed Tuesday. The case was filed in Hawaii Circuit Court, which handles civil cases seeking more than $40,000.

The plaintiff filed the initial case less than a week after de Laura quarterbacked Washington State to a victory over Washington to win the Apple Cup for the first time since 2012. Days later, de Laura was named the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year for his final season at Washington State before transferring to Arizona the next month.

Latu began his college career at Utah before transferring to Wisconsin in spring 2022.

It’s unknown if UA officials were aware of de Laura’s case prior to his transfer. Football coach Jedd Fisch, Athletic Director Dave Heeke and a spokeswoman for President Robert C. Robbins, Pam Scott, did not immediately respond to the Star’s requests for comment Thursday.

The lawsuit

According to court documents obtained by the Star, the girl, her mother and a friend flew from Molokai to Oahu to attend a championship football game between St. Louis and Punahou at Aloha Stadium. De Laura, a Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year, threw for 268 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 45-21 win over Punahou.

The girl “was an acquaintance of (de Laura) and other members of the (St. Louis) team,” the court documents say. As part of Hawaiian tradition, the girl brought flower leis to give to players on the team but was instructed to drive to the St. Louis campus after the players were directed to the team bus shortly after the game ended.

Court documents state the plaintiff drove to the school and delivered the leis to members of the St. Louis football team. Once she returned to the car, she received a text message from de Laura inquiring about her location, the records say.

According to the lawsuit, de Laura summoned her to the stairwell on the second floor of a parking structure connected to St. Louis School “because he needed to ‘talk’ to her.” The girl’s friend and mother remained in the car while she met with de Laura.

The claim says the girl encountered de Laura and Latu in the stairwell where they demanded she “engage in sex with the two of them simultaneously, immediately.”

When she refused, de Laura and Latu “physically overpowered” her and sexually assaulted her, the lawsuit states.

De Laura allegedly choked the plaintiff, who “was sobbing uncontrollably in fear and anger,” to get her to cooperate, the court documents say. When she refused, De Laura let her go, she went back to the car and her mother drove them away, the lawsuit says.

Apology letter ordered

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The mother noticed her daughter was distraught, and the girl said she had been sexually assaulted by de Laura and Latu, the court documents state. When the plaintiff was encouraged to go to authorities, she “felt ashamed and embarrassed ... like she wouldn’t be believed,” according to the court filing.

The court documents say that when the girl confronted de Laura via text message about the incident, the Arizona quarterback admitted he and Latu sexually assaulted her and later apologized.

The plaintiff filed a police report in December of 2018, when she showed the police messages exchanged between herself and de Laura, court records say.

Neither de Laura nor Latu received jail time, the lawsuit says, adding that they were ordered to write apology letters to the girl. Although the criminal case was handled through the juvenile court system, the civil lawsuit was filed against the families of de Laura and Latu, along with St. Louis High School, for “assault, false imprisonment and negligence.”

An amended complaint alleged St. Louis High School “breached a duty to protect plaintiff from the alleged criminal conduct by de Laura and Latu, and to prevent De Laura and Latu from cmmitting the alleged assault.” The school has asked to be dismissed from that pending case.

Latu’s, Wisconsin’s responses

One of Latu’s lawyers, Michael Green, told Hawaii News Now:

“In my view, this case was better not to be tried. For closure for him, certainly closure for this young woman ... we just wanted my client to go on with his life, let her go on with her life.”

Wisconsin released a statement Thursday afternoon regarding Latu’s status:

“At the time of Wisconsin football student-athlete Kamo’i Latu’s initial enrollment at UW-Madison, the matter being reported involving Latu was not known to UW Athletics officials.

“As described, the matter relates to Latu when he was a minor and the juvenile records are sealed. Last fall UW-Madison officials became aware of the civil suit filed in the matter.

“Based on the information available to the UW-Madison Office of Legal Affairs and UW Athletics officials, the matter being reported that involved Latu prior to his time as a college student does not violate the UW Athletics Student-Athlete Discipline Policy, university misconduct policies, or reporting or disclosure requirements. Latu remains a member of the Wisconsin football team.”

De Laura’s college career

De Laura was arrested on suspicion of DUI in February of 2021 after his first season at Washington State. He was suspended by WSU but later found not guilty.

He entered the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 7, 2022. He committed to Arizona three days later.

After taking over the reins of Arizona’s offense, de Laura propelled the Wildcats to the sixth-best passing offense in college football, third in the Pac-12. De Laura finished the 2022 campaign with 3,685 passing yards — the third most in a season by a Wildcat — and 25 touchdowns.

With de Laura behind center in ‘22, Arizona finished 5-7 with wins over No. 12 UCLA at the Rose Bowl and arch nemesis Arizona State to win the Territorial Cup for the first time since 2016.

De Laura will be a fourth-year junior in the fall with two years of eligibility remaining.