Arizona QB Jayden de Laura, Wisconsin DB Kamo’i Latu settle civil sexual assault suit: Report

Wisconsin starting safety Kamo’i Latu and Arizona starting quarterback Jayden de Laura settled a civil lawsuit on Wednesday stemming from a sexual assault case that was handled in juvenile court, according to a report from HawaiiNewsNow.

Latu and de Laura agreed to settle with a woman who said they raped her on Oct. 27, 2018, after their St. Louis High School football team won a Hawaii state championship, according to the report. All three were underage at the time. The civil case has been ongoing since December 2021. The amount awarded is not being released as part of a privacy agreement.

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Latu’s attorney, Michael Green, told HawaiiNewsNow that the settlement was not an admission of guilt and that he would not comment on the juvenile criminal case, which remains sealed.

“I cannot in good conscience as a lawyer represent someone charged of a serious crime, at least accused, and let him go past their 18th birthday, go into big-boy court and take three years to finish the case and their college career is over,” Green told The Athletic. “I can’t do that. it’s just insane. Imagine getting a not guilty. Now he’s 24 years old. So we had the opportunity to end it immediately, and that’s what we did.”

Green said he talked to representatives in Wisconsin’s athletic department last year. Wisconsin released a statement on the incident Thursday: “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.”

The complaint states the girl, an acquaintance of de Laura and other players, attended the championship game at Aloha Stadium with her mom and friend and brought leis to give to some of the players after the game. The court filing, obtained by HawaiiNewsNow, said they were told instead to drive to St. Louis High School. The girl then received a text message from de Laura telling her to meet in the second-floor stairwell of the parking garage area because he needed to talk to her. The girl went to the stairwell while her mom and friend waited in the car.

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According to the court records, the girl said Latu was in the stairwell with de Laura, who demanded she “engage in sex with the two of them simultaneously, immediately.” She refused, the complaint said. According to HawaiiNewsNow, the document says the players “physically overpowered her.” 

She later told her mother, who contacted police. The report described a text message from de Laura in which he admits the two players sexually assaulted her, and he “eventually apologized.”

Latu and de Laura were “charged and eventually pled guilty” to sex assault 2, the civil complaint says. The document doesn’t provide a date and states that “neither received any jail time pursuant to their guilty pleas.” The players were instead “required to write letters of apology” to the girl.

The civil lawsuit was filed against Latu and de Laura, as well as their parents and St. Louis High School, citing assault, false imprisonment and negligence. According to HawaiiNewsNow, Latu and de Laura’s families agreed to settle with the girl after private mediation began late last year. The high school continues to fight the lawsuit, which accuses the school of not providing adequate security the night of the championship game.

De Laura started his college career at Washington State before transferring in 2022 to Arizona, where he passed for 3,685 yards and 25 touchdowns in a 5-7 campaign. Latu, who will be a senior next season, transferred from Utah to Wisconsin in 2022 and played in 13 games with 12 starts at safety.

 (Photo of Jayden de Laura: Jevone Moore / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)