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LOGAN — The phone call brought them to their knees.
The mother of a woman sexually assaulted by former Utah State University football player Ismael "Izzy" Kalani Vaifoou tearfully recounted receiving the devastating news that her daughter had been attacked in her own bed while she slept after a drunken Vaifoou entered her room.
She packed a bag that night, she said, and flew to Utah so she could hold her daughter through the days immediately following the assault.
Her daughter couldn't stop shaking and jumped at every sound, the mother said. Another daughter later blamed herself because she had meant to call her sister that night and thought maybe the assault wouldn't have happened if she had called.
The mother described her daughter as a strong girl and said seeing her that scared was the hardest thing she's ever done as a parent.
In a written statement read to the court during Vaifoou's sentencing hearing Tuesday, the victim's parents added that their other children struggled in the wake of the attack. One was scared to sleep alone, while another grappled with anger. Their daughter hasn't slept a full night since she was assaulted and is going through an expensive and "inconvenient" school transfer process, since she feels USU is no longer a healthy place for her.
It's haunted her in other ways, too. On the victim's first day as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a member of Vaifoou's family sent her an email accusing her of lying, according to the family's statement. They're unsure how that person got their daughter's email address.
But despite all of the trauma, the mother said her family doesn't want to ruin Vaifoou's life.
"We have a lot of compassion for Izzy," she said, then turned around to tell him directly that she hopes he makes better choices. "Forgiveness is a hard thing, but we're going to try to forgive you. ... My daughter is going to be OK. We're going to be OK."
The victim's father added that he has forgiveness in his heart and hopes only good things for Vaifoou.
"I have no hatred toward you whatsoever," he told Vaifoou.
Vaifoou, 23, pleaded guilty in June to burglary and two counts of forcible sexual abuse, second-degree felonies, as part of a plea deal. Five other charges were dismissed, including rape, criminal trespass and intoxication.
Judge Angela F. Fonnesbeck sentenced him to three terms of one to 15 years in prison but suspended the prison time and ordered him to instead serve 210 days in the Cache County Jail for each of the three charges. She ordered that the sentences run concurrently and without credit for time he has already served. Vaifoou was also ordered to serve 48 months of probation and to register as a sex offender.
Vaifoou played his freshman year for the USU football team in 2020 and earned all-state honors during his senior year at Highland High School.
According to police, Vaifoou became intoxicated on April 18, 2021, and "entered several suites on several different floors" at the Living Learning Center on the USU campus.
One woman reported that she was asleep when she was "woken up by doors opening and closing coming from inside the suite," a court document states. "(She) then reported that Izzy then entered her room and took a step toward her bed to which she stated, 'Who the hell are you?' at which point she reported Izzy left."
Vaifoou then went into another room where the victim was sleeping, undressed to his underwear and got in bed with her, according to police, and then sexually assaulted her.
"It was reported that (the woman) pushed him and told him to get out. She reported that Izzy then got up, put his clothes on and left her room," a police affidavit states.
Witnesses told police that Vaifoou entered two other suites and told one of the occupants that "he was intoxicated and that he had entered a dark apartment and asked 'if I should be there' and a girl said, 'No,'" according to the affidavit.
Deputy Cache County attorney Griffin Hazard told the judge Tuesday that the victim was alone that night because most of her roommates had left on a weekend trip, including the girl she shared a room with. But the victim had stayed behind to study for final exams, he said, and woke up to a complete stranger unclothed in her bed and violating her.
Hazard said he's "a little bit shocked" that, given the facts of the case, only 210 days of jail time were recommended in a presentence report for Vaifoou. The prosecution agreed not to recommend prison time only because of the compassion of the victim's family, he added.
And while he's "impressed" that Vaifoou seems to be taking responsibility for his actions, Hazard asked the judge to order a year of jail time because Vaiofoou needs to experience consequences.
"This is a serious case that involves real people," he said.
Defense attorney Cara Tangaro, however, argued that Vaifoou has been in pretrial services for 16 months and followed through with all conditions. He has a stable living environment, she continued, has seen a good therapist and has been working throughout the course of his case.
She also asked the judge to consider several mitigating factors. Vaifoou had witnessed a close friend die in a car accident about a month before the assault, she said, and the funeral was a week before. Though Vaifoou isn't typically a drinker, Tangaro said grief combined with the end of the football season is what led him to drink on the night of the assault.
Tangaro said these aren't excuses, but she wants to emphasize that the assault didn't happen in a vacuum.
She also said she believes Vaifoou won't reoffend, which isn't something she said she can always say about her clients. Vaifoou has strong family support, evidenced by the multiple family members present at his sentencing, and has been working hard to show that he can be a productive member of society, she continued.
He arrived at court prepared to go to jail, Tangaro said, and his remorse "can't be expressed enough." She asked the judge to sentence him to 105 days in jail.
Vaifoou then addressed the judge, saying he wanted to officially apologize for his actions. He's been trying to work hard, he said, and will continue trying.
"I wish I could take back that night," he said. "I'll take whatever punishment the court decides."
In handing down the sentence, Fonnesbeck said she "takes no pleasure" in lives being damaged, from the victim and her family to Vaifoou and his family. She said she appreciates Vaifoou taking responsibility, and believes he has great potential.
"I don't often see individuals ... that I feel a degree of confidence that you will not reoffend," Fonnesback said. "Please don't prove me wrong."
She added that in crafting a sentence, she considers both punitive and rehabilitative measures.
"I wouldn't do this job if I didn't think people could change," she said. "Sir, you have a lot to prove."
Vaifoou was immediately taken into custody following the sentencing. Several family members and friends cried quietly as he said goodbye over the railing separating the spectators from the litigators, while one hugged Tangaro on her way out.
"We'll see you soon, Izzy," another said before Vaifoou was escorted out.
