Arizona QB Jayden de Laura has settlement rejected in sexual assault lawsuit
Sep 19, 2023, 5:01 PM | Updated: Sep 20, 2023, 4:35 am
Quarterback Jayden de Laura #7 of the Arizona Wildcats prepares for a game at Arizona Stadium. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
A settlement Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura reached for a sexual assault he and Wisconsin safety Kamo’i Latu allegedly committed on a woman in 2018 when all three were juveniles has been rejected by a Hawaii judge, per the Arizona Daily Star.
The two St. Louis School (Honolulu) teammates were accused of raping the woman in Oct. 2018, when the victim was 16. De Laura and Latu agreed to settle a civil lawsuit over the sexual assault case that was initially handled in juvenile court, according to HawaiiNewsNow.com.
A January mediation hearing is scheduled now after the judge ruled the settlement was not reached in good faith, according to The Arizona Daily Star. The judge ruled the sum too low given de Laura and Latu can earn money as collegiate athletes through NIL deals.
The first complaint in the civil court case was filed in Dec. 2021.
The victim was described in court documents as an acquaintance of de Laura and Latu. With a mother and friend while in high school, she drove to St. Louis School after a football game to give the players a lei while supporting the football team.
De Laura asked her via text message where she was and then asked her to meet him in a stairwell of a parking garage to talk to her. The victim did so with her mom and friend waiting in the car.
Per HawaiiNewsNow.com:
The court records say Latu was in the stairwell waiting with de Laura, who “demanded” the she “engage in sex with the two of them simultaneously, immediately.”
She refused, according to the complaint.
The document then goes into graphic detail, saying the players “physically overpowered her” and that de Laura was “holding her head from behind and pushing it down” on Latu.
De Laura “began choking her to gain her cooperation” as he assaulted her, according to the court record which says the victim was “sobbing uncontrollably in fear and anger”.
When the agreed settlement was publicly reported in May, Arizona’s athletic department released a statement saying de Laura would remain on the team.
“In the fall of 2022 after a civil complaint was filed against football student-athlete Jayden de Laura, the University of Arizona first become aware of a 2018 incident involving de Laura which occurred while he was in high school in Hawaii,” it said in a statement.
“After reviewing the matter, the determination was made to allow de Laura to continue as a student-athlete and his status remains unchanged.”
De Laura has remained with the team and started at quarterback, leading the Wildcats to a 2-1 record through three games.
