Utah State Settles Sexual Assault Lawsuit After Recording Exposes Police Chief For Warning Football Team About Mormon Women

A Utah State student has settled her high-profile case against the university and is set to receive $500,000. The suit exposed the university police chief for warning the football team about Mormon women in regard to consensual sex.

Utah State has settled its sexual assault lawsuit for $500,000. (Photo by Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Kaytriauna Flint's originally filed against the school in 2021. Her lawsuit reignited allegations that Utah State University was deliberately turning a blind eye to women who reported being sexually assaulted by a member of the football team. Flint said that it happened to her.

A 2020 Department of Justice investigation found that the university failed to address multiple incidents of "severe sexual harassment, including rapes and other forcible sexual assaults." Flint's suit alleged that the university did not make the changes that it promised the DOJ it would make.

"There was a huge lack of urgency and structure and accountability when I was going through my process with Utah State," she said earlier this week. "It just felt like they were never hearing me. Going into the lawsuit, I felt that was the only way they would hear me."

During the legal process, Kaytriauna Flint's filing against Utah State brought a damning recording to light.

Former Utah State Police Chief Earl Morris spoke to members of the football program. He warned the team that Latter-Day Saints women "may have sex with you," but will often tell their bishop that the encounter was nonconsensual because it's "easier."

Morris also said that the women might "feel regret" for having sex before marriage. That goes against the Mormon faith's teachings of abstinence. In turn, he told players that women will claim sexual assault as a way to release the guilt of sin.

A second recording is of head football coach Blake Anderson. He can be heard telling players that it "has never been more glamorized to be a victim" of sexual assault. He later issued a public apology and Morris resigned from his post.

Flint has agreed to drop all claims against the university in exchange for the $500,000 payout. However, in the settlement, Utah State does not admit any guilt.