Report: Arizona QB Jayden de Laura, Wisconsin DB Kamo'i Latu agree to settle civil sexual assault lawsuit

Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura and Wisconsin defensive back Kamo’i Latu have agreed to settle a civil sexual assault lawsuit from 2018, according to a report from HawaiiNewsNow. The incident occurred in October 2018 when the two players were in high school.

When de Laura and Latu played at St. Louis High School in their native Hawaii, a woman said they raped her after the Interscholastic League of Hawaii (ILH) championship game in October 2018. The victim — now 20 years old — was 16 at the time and both boys were underage, as well, according to the report.

After supporters presented the lei at the school, the trio went back to the car. That’s when de Laura texted the girl ““demanding to know where she was and summoning her back to the second floor stairwell of the parking garage area,” according to the suit. She went there while her mother and friend stayed by the car.

That’s when de Laura “demanded” the girl “engage in sex with the two of them simultaneously, immediately,” according to the complaint. She refused, and the two players allegedly “physically overpowered her.”

The two players “eventually apologized,” per the complaint, and text messages showed de Laura admitted to assaulting the girl. He and Latu eventually were charged and pled guilty to “sex assault 2” and “neither received any jail time pursuant to their guilty pleas.” Instead, they wrote “letters of apology” to the girl.

Kamo’i Latu’s attorney responds to settlement in 2018 sexual assault case

de Laura’s attorney didn’t respond to HawaiiNewsNow’s requests for comment, but Latu’s attorney — Michael Green — did. He doesn’t consider the settlement an admission of guilt and added he wouldn’t comment further on a sealed, juvenile criminal case.

“In my view, this case was better not to be tried,” Green said. “For closure for him, certainly closure for this young woman … we just wanted my client to go on with his life, let her go on with her life.”

In a separate statement to The Athletic, Green said he wanted to bring the suit to an end while the opportunity was there.

“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 said. “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.”

The University of Wisconsin also released a statement to HawaiiNewsNow regarding the situation and confirmed Latu is still a member of the Badgers football team.

“As described, the matter relates to Latu when he was a minor and the juvenile records are sealed,” the statement said. “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.”