KSL Legal Analyst: Next Steps, Potential Timeline In BYU Quarterback Jake Retzlaff Sexual Assault Allegations Lawsuit

SALT LAKE CITY – KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas offered insight into a potential timeline of a civil lawsuit in which an anonymous woman accused BYU Quarterback Jake Retzlaff of sexual assault.

News of the lawsuit broke earlier this week, KSL Sports obtained a copy. The lawsuit alleges that Jane Doe A.G. and Retzlaff connected over social media in October 2023. At that time, Retzlaff was in his first year as a player in the BYU football program.

In the lawsuit, Jane Doe A.G. alleges the interaction occurred on or around November 22, 2023. Retzlaff invited Jane Doe A.G. to “hang out and play video games.” The lawsuit alleges that “Retzlaff raped, strangled, and bit Jane Doe A.G.”

Greg Skordas discusses lawsuit accusing Jake Retzlaff of sexual assault

Skordas, KSL Legal Analyst and a lawyer with an illustrious 40+ year career, joined Hans & Scotty G. on KSL Sports Zone to answer questions regarding this filing.

Skordas thinks there’s a “zero percent chance” that this filing caught Retzlaff and BYU officials “flatfooted.”

“I would assume that a good civil lawyer … would have reached out to at least Retzlaff and said ‘hey, we’ve got this case … do you want to settle? Do you want to try to solve it?'” said Skordas. “I would also assume that because the Provo Police Department investigated it that there had to be some level of referral to the Title IX people at BYU which would have triggered a call to the coach.”

BYU released the following statement regarding the civil suit.

“BYU became aware today that a civil lawsuit involving Jake Retzlaff had been filed this morning. The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX. Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment.”

Timeline

The case, filed May 22, 2024, is currently active.

“We are in the very early stages,” Skordas explained, “And in a case like this, to get to trial, before it’ll see a jury, probably not even in 2026.”

Skordas told KSL Sports Zone that it’ll probably take 18-24 months before this case goes to trial. He explained that criminal cases move much faster than civil cases.

Civil vs. Criminal

“Why isn’t this being prosecuted criminally? If you read the civil lawsuit you can see that the alleged victim here … did, at least contact initially, the Provo Police Department and there was some attempt to take this criminally,” Skordas answered, “You would always expect a victim in a case like this to pursue it criminally first so I am assuming, just reading between the lines … that the prosecutors (the Utah County attorney’s office) decided not to charge the case criminally, so now this is her only remedy.”

When asked why the prosecutors wouldn’t have pursued criminally, Skordas told KSL Sports Zone, “Even from her own statements here in this complaint, she was reluctant to come forward, she was reluctant to disclose the name of the supposed perpetrator … and I just assume that the Utah County attorney’s office and the Provo Police Department … they decided they couldn’t prevail, that there wasn’t enough evidence to prevail in this case.”

In the lawsuit, Jane Doe A.G. claimed to have connected with the Provo Police Department but initially “did not share his name because the officer she spoke to said if she did, detectives would show up at Retzlaff’s house to question him and would share her name with him. She was scared and in shock and not ready to confront him.”

A statement from the Provo Police Department can be found here.

Skordas went on to explain that a civil case has a little bit lesser of a standard when compared to a criminal case.

“If you sue someone civilly, you have to prove your case by what we call a preponderance of the evidence. In other words, you have a better case than the other side. In a criminal case, the standard is much higher,” Skordas said.

For continued reporting, follow Mitch Harper on X: @Mitch_Harper.