Washington's Tybo Rogers charged with 2 counts of rape

King County prosecutors charged Rogers, a sophomore running back, in two different 2023 rapes.

TW: This article includes graphic descriptions of sexual assault allegations.

SEATTLE — King County prosecutors rush filed on Tuesday second-degree and third-degree felony rape charges against Washington Huskies running back Tylin “Tybo” Rogers, relating to two separate incidents — involving two different victims — which occurred in October and November of 2023.

Rogers, 18, was arrested Friday morning on UW’s campus and booked into King County jail. He was released Saturday on bond, jail records show. He is scheduled to be arraigned April 18. Bail is set at $300,000.

“The University of Washington Intercollegiate Athletics Department is aware of the arrest of a football student-athlete,” according to a statement provided by a UW spokesperson. “The student-athlete has been suspended from all team activities until further notice. The UW will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”

On Montlake reached out to Rogers for comment Tuesday afternoon, but he did not immediately reply.

First-year coach Jedd Fisch said after Tuesday’s practice: “I don’t know much about it, other than the fact that ICA has suspended him indefinitely, and I don’t expect him to be out here on the field.” Fisch said UW suspended Rogers as soon as it learned of the allegations.

According to court documents:

Rogers met the first victim, a 19-year-old student at Seattle Central Community College, on a dating app in August, and later began messaging her on Instagram; she described him as “pushy” and said she ignored him for about three months, but eventually agreed to hang out with him at her apartment on the evening of Oct. 23. She said she made clear to him before they met that she was not interested in having sex.

They watched television on a couch together before the victim’s roommate came out to leave for work. After he left, Rogers asked the victim if they were alone in the apartment. She replied that her roommate’s boyfriend was in the unit, but was asleep.

Rogers then asked her to move closer to him on the couch. After she did, he grabbed her, put her on his lap, and began forcefully kissing her while holding her by the jaw before forcing her head toward his groin and demanding that she perform oral sex. She resisted, saying “we shouldn’t do it,” but says Rogers raped her orally for about 10 minutes.

Rogers eventually asked the victim to stand up, then turned her around and began penetrating her from behind, which she described as rough and painful. Her body was “shaking and twitching,” she told police. 

The probable cause document lists the victim’s size at 5-foot-2 and 110 pounds; UW’s football roster lists Rogers at 5-11 and 185. She told police she figured the assault would be less painful if she complied.

Rogers then pushed the victim to the ground and masturbated over her for about two minutes before ejaculating on her. Shortly after, he got dressed and left.

The victim said she immediately called her mother, who took her to Harborview Medical Center to complete a sexual assault kit. The victim said that on her way to the hospital, she discovered Rogers had blocked her on Instagram. Court documents indicate she reported the incident to police on Oct. 28.

In late November, she posted a message to her Instagram story accusing Rogers of raping her. On Nov. 28, she received a phone call from a number that police confirmed matched the number associated with Rogers’ Instagram account. When she answered, Rogers identified himself and began questioning why she had accused him of raping her. She told him she didn’t want to speak with him, hung up and blocked his number. She said she doesn’t know how he obtained her phone number, because she never gave it to him, and had only communicated with him via social media.

That same day, the victim said she reported the assault to UW’s Title IX office, which police confirmed via search warrant. A probable cause document states that the details included in the Title IX report are consistent with what the victim told police.

A UW spokesperson declined comment on any university investigation, citing federal student privacy laws.

On Feb. 23, police responded to a report from a 22-year-old University of Washington student who said Rogers had raped her some time between Halloween and Thanksgiving. They met briefly at a Halloween party on UW’s Greek Row, the second victim said, and matched on a dating app about two weeks later. They exchanged messages about school and Rogers’ training as a football player, and decided to meet at the woman’s apartment. They were hanging outside the building, she said, but decided to go inside her apartment because it was cold and raining.

The second victim said Rogers became forceful within the first minute of entering the unit, telling her to “take it all off” before throwing her on a bed, removing her jacket, sweatpants and underwear and ripping off her tank top and bra. She said he then took her off the bed and stood behind her, naked, while slapping her buttocks and thighs. 

They wound up back on the bed, where she said Rogers climbed on top of her. She struggled and screamed for him to stop as he tried to penetrate her, but said he covered her mouth with his hand and screamed “No!” She told police Rogers penetrated her vaginally twice as she continued to struggle and roll away from him. After about 20 minutes, she reported that he stood up, masturbated and ejaculated on her, then dressed and immediately left. She told police that she hasn’t heard from him since. 

She said she experienced soreness and redness on her face, neck, thighs and buttocks in the days following the assault.

Charging documents listed 3910 Montlake Blvd. Northeast — near Husky Stadium, in the area of UW’s athletics facilities — as the location of Rogers’ Friday arrest.

Rogers did not travel with the team for the Pac-12 championship game, played Dec. 1 in Las Vegas, but later played in both of Washington’s College Football Playoff games. The probable cause document states that a warrant revealed emails within UW’s athletic department confirming Rogers should be removed from the travel squad for the Pac-12 championship game, but with no reason given. 

Still, the investigating officer wrote that the timing of the first victim’s Instagram post and Rogers’ absence from the Pac-12 title game “led me to believe there is a connection between his suspension and her disclosure of the assault,” especially in light of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb telling a reporter in December that Rogers was working through “some challenges he’s had off the field.”

Rogers carried five times for 19 yards in Washington’s Sugar Bowl victory over Texas on Jan. 1. A week later, he carried once for two yards, and caught an 11-yard pass, in the Huskies’ loss to Michigan in the national championship game.

Former UW coach Kalen DeBoer, now at Alabama, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Fisch said after Tuesday’s practice that he was not aware of a December suspension for Rogers upon taking the job in January. “Nothing was brought to my attention on any of that,” he said.

Rogers also had been suspended for violating team rules for much of UW’s August training camp — months prior to the rape accusations — though no reason was ever given. A three-star recruit in the 2023 class from Bakersfield (Calif.) High, Rogers returned to the team before the season started and made his collegiate debut on Sept. 16, rushing for 74 yards in a 41-7 win at Michigan State.

He finished the year with 184 yards rushing, and chose to return to Washington for his sophomore season after initially entering the transfer portal. Rogers attended UW’s first two spring practices before missing Saturday’s workout, one day after his arrest.

Court records also include a law enforcement officer’s objection to Rogers being released.

“If released,” the document reads, “Rogers is likely to commit another violent crime.”

This is a developing story, and may be updated. Due to the developing nature, this story will only publish to the web, and will not be sent as a newsletter.

— Christian Caple, On Montlake