For 1st time since news of sex-assault case, Arizona QB to take microphone at Pac-12 event

Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura will travel with head coach Jedd Fisch and junior defensive back Treydan Stukes to Las Vegas for Pac-12 Media Day next week. The conference event marks the first time De Laura, a junior who returns as a second-year starter for the Wildcats, will answer questions since news became public of de Laura, UA’s star quarterback, settling a sexual-assault case from his high school career in Honolulu. A civil complaint filed in December of 2021 in Hawaii Circuit Court, which handles civil cases seeking more than $40,000, was settled for an undisclosed amount. De Laura transferred from Washington State to Arizona shortly after the civil case was filed. Court records filed in May suggested de Laura and former St. Louis High School teammate Kamoi Latu reached a settlement with a woman who told police in December 2018 that the two raped her after a high school football game in Honolulu on Oct. 27, 2018, when she was about 17 years old. According to court documents obtained by the Star, the then-teenaged girl, her mother and a friend flew from Molokai to Oahu to attend the matchup between St. Louis School, featuring de Laura and Latu, and Punahou at Aloha Stadium. 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 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 forced sex acts on 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 her away, the lawsuit says. 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. Neither de Laura nor Latu received jail time, the lawsuit says, adding that they were ordered to write apology letters to the plaintiff. 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 School, for “assault, false imprisonment and negligence.” A statement sent to the Star from de Laura’s attorneys Philip Miyoshi and Thomas Otake, who was one of de Laura’s attorneys in the juvenile court case, in May combats the claims made in the civil suit. Said in the statement: “Reports from certain media outlets involving Jayden de Laura are inaccurate and have inflicted unnecessary duress and reputational harm to numerous individuals and entities. “The allegations against Jayden stemmed from when he was a junior in high school, a minor, and were handled in the Family Court. Under Hawaii law, the records and files in juvenile cases are sealed, and all parties are prohibited by law from releasing them. “While we are unable to release details of the case, it is important to correct misinformation that has been reported. What we can share is that reports that Jayden pled guilty and was convicted of sexual assault are not accurate. “Further, when the civil lawsuit was brought well after the juvenile matter in Family Court concluded, Jayden chose to resolve it quickly, with no admissions of guilt, so he could focus on his academic and athletic career, and all parties could move forward with their lives without the stressors of a lengthy litigation process.” Two days after the civil case was first reported by Hawaii News Now, the UA announced that it was aware of the civil complaint against de Laura and his status “remains unchanged” with the program. “In the fall of 2022 after a civil complaint was filed against football student-athlete Jayden de Laura, the University of Arizona first became aware of a 2018 incident involving de Laura which occurred while he was in high school in Hawaii,” the UA statement read. “After reviewing the matter, the determination was made to allow de Laura to continue as a student-athlete and his status remains unchanged.” Arizona Spring Ball Quarterback Jayden de Laura cocks to throw while working with the receivers at the University of Arizona spring practice session on March 30, 2023. Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star Since then, de Laura has kept a low profile. He has, however, participated in two high-level quarterback camps this summer: Manning Passing Academy, a four-day camp hosted by Peyton Manning and Eli Manning in Louisiana, where he was one of seven participants from the Pac-12, and “3DQB,” a program based in Huntington Beach, California. In his first season as Arizona’s starter, de Laura passed for 3,685 yards (third-most in a season by a UA quarterback), 25 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Pac-12 Media Day will begin the morning of July 21 in Las Vegas. Players and coaches from across the Pac-12 will face reporters en masse for the first time ahead of the 2023 season at the conference’s annual preseason gathering on the Las Vegas strip. Arizona kicks off the 2023 season against Northern Arizona on Sept. 2 in Tucson.