Jayden de Laura, coach Jedd Fisch dispute claims about Arizona QB's sexual-assault case

LAS VEGAS — University of Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura said Friday a lawsuit’s claim he pleaded guilty in a sexual assault case stemming from his high school years in Hawaii was “misinformation,” and UA football coach Jedd Fisch said de Laura “was never guilty, never pled guilty or was never found guilty of anything.”

Taking his seat on the main stage at the Pac-12’s Football Media Day event, de Laura read from a prepared statement, breaking his silence on the case and calling it “misinformation that’s been reported that stated that I pled guilty or was convicted of sexual assault.”

Fisch, speaking on the same stage shortly before his players did and again later during a breakout session with media, also spoke for the first time about the case.

“All of the research that we did, what we learned was that Jayden was never guilty, never pled guilty or was never found guilty of anything,” Fisch said.

De Laura did not say and was not directly asked what plea, if any, he entered in the juvenile court case.

Their statements stand in stark contrast to court documents obtained by the Star in May in a lawsuit filed on Dec. 2, 2021. According to court documents filed by the plaintiff’s attorney in that lawsuit, de Laura and St. Louis (Honolulu, Hawaii) High School teammate Kamo’i 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 and Latu, now a safety at the University of Wisconsin, were accused by a then-teenaged girl — now the plaintiff in the lawsuit — of sexually assaulting her after a high school football game in 2018. Three years later, in December of 2021, the civil lawsuit was filed one month before de Laura transferred from Washington State to the UA. In Hawaii Circuit Court, the lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount, court records say.

News of the civil claim came to light in May; two days after, the UA said de Laura’s “status remains unchanged” with the football program.

Attorneys Philip Miyoshi and Thomas Otake, who represent de Laura, combatted the claims made in the civil lawsuit, which stated he pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault and that, along with Latu, was required to write apology letters to the plaintiff. The attorneys’ statement in May said, “reports from certain media outlets involving Jayden de Laura are inaccurate and have inflicted unnecessary duress and reputational harm to numerous individuals and entities.”

A mildly emotional de Laura said Friday, “There’s nothing I would like to do but clear my name if I could, (to) defend myself from what’s being written.

“However, I hope you understand that I’m bound by the law to not discuss this matter at all. I just do not intend to break the law. What I can say today is that I’m grateful for the University of Arizona for assessing the facts in this matter and allowing me to continue my education as a student-athlete.”

Before de Laura’s statement, Fisch was asked by Pac-12 Network personality Yogi Roth about Arizona’s star quarterback. Fisch said the UA became aware of the case in September.

“I can certainly address what I’m allowed to address when it comes to this,” Fisch said. “Legally, there’s not much that I can say, but I can tell you that the university, our football program and I were all made aware of a juvenile and civil action that was brought against Jayden in September of last season.

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“We were not able to get much information. We did as much due diligence as humanly possible. ... What we learned was that Jayden never pled guilty, was never found guilty of any crimes,” he said for the first time. “Really for us, that’s what we could live off of. That’s what we could understand. We can’t make decisions, it would be unfair to make decisions, based upon information we don’t have.”

Fisch added: “There is no information. There won’t be any information that is available under Hawaii law. Everything is sealed and expunged, so there really is nothing for us to learn. What we can ask for is for Jayden every day to be the best possible leader he can be for us.”

After de Laura read his statement Friday, he took mostly football-related questions while seated next to his UA teammate, Treydan Stukes on the media day stage at Zouk Nightclub in Las Vegas.

In de Laura’s first season with the Wildcats, the former Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, who grew up in Honolulu before beginning his college career at Washington State, passed for 3,685 yards (third-most by an Arizona quarterback in a single season), 25 touchdowns and a conference-worst 13 interceptions during the 2022 campaign.

Upon discovering available information on the case prior to the season, Fisch said Friday he didn’t question de Laura’s status as the Wildcats’ starting quarterback.

“I will say this: My brother is a lawyer, my dad is a lawyer, my grandfather is a lawyer. I respect the legal system and I believe in the legal system, and what we learned in the legal system and what we learned from this is that there’s absolutely no reason why Jayden de Laura shouldn’t go get his degree and graduate from the University of Arizona and be the quarterback,” Fisch said.

Due to his connection to the case, De Laura said his reputation has been tarnished since May.

“When you Google my name, that’s the first thing that pops up,” the quarterback said. “It kind of sucks, because people keep coming out with whatever, and I kind of wanted to be able to defend myself.”

Asked Friday about his message to UA fans or anyone challenging his position on Arizona’s roster, de Laura said, “Don’t worry. ... (My teammates) have my back, and I’ve got their back. We believe in each other, we put in the hard work this offseason to be the best team we can be. Just be patient once the season starts, and everything will fall into place.”

Arizona’s preseason fall football practices begin Aug. 2. The first game of the Wildcats’ 2023 schedule is Sept. 2 in Tucson against Northern Arizona.

When asked Friday what his next steps are, de Laura responded: “I don’t know.

“Still trying to figure that out.”