Jaqua's parents: 'Nate is a terrific person'

July 3, 5:02 PMSeattle Soccer ExaminerDavid Falk

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The news of a sexual assault complaint filed in an Oregon court this week against Seattle Sounders FC forward Nate Jaqua has made it to the mainstream press today.

The Seattle Times and the Seattle P-I both have stories, and just a few minutes ago the Jaqua family released a short statement posted by Jose Romero in his Times Sounders blog:

"The allegations contained in this civil lawsuit are completely incompatible with everything that the people closest to Nate know about him. Nate is a terrific person. At age 28, he's never been in trouble in his life. He was born and raised in Eugene and has always been committed to making positive contributions to our community.

"Looking at this Complaint, the circumstances under which it was filed, and based on everything that Connie and I know about Nate, we can only conclude that the plaintiff in this case is a troubled young woman. The incident allegedly took place more than two years ago. In the intervening two years, the plaintiff apparently never reported any incident to the police. She apparently never went to the District Attorney. Neither she nor her lawyer ever approached Nate or us, his family. Instead, her initial platform for making these very troubling and detailed allegations of criminal conduct is a civil lawsuit demanding $10 million, filed just one day before the statute of limitations would have extinguished her ability to demand money.

"We steadfastly support Nate during this difficult time and will continue to do so."

Sounders fans have been biting their lips and for the most-part holding their tongues on discussions over at the GOALSeattle.com forums.

This is the second such allegation to be brought in the club's first season. Fredy Montero's ordeal was never brought to a charge by King County prosecuters earlier this spring. Jaqua's case is not criminal, meaning that punishment being sought is in terms of money for damages. Jaqua was not with the Sounders in 2007 (year of accused act) as Sounders FC had yet to be formed.