A University of Utah tennis player has been charged with multiple felony counts of rape for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at his home last November.
Berk Bugarikj, 21, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with three counts of first-degree felony rape, two counts of first-degree forcible sodomy, and one count of first-degree felony object rape.
“We are aware of the criminal charges filed against a men’s tennis student-athlete,” the University of Utah said in a statement.
“Upon initially learning in November 2024 of an accusation against the student-athlete, the Athletics Department immediately suspended the student-athlete. In January 2025, when no charges had been filed against the student-athlete, the suspension was lifted with the condition that it would be reapplied should charges be filed in the case.We treat allegations of significant misconduct very seriously, and the student-athlete has again been suspended.”
Bugarikj, a junior from Skopje, Macedonia, was at a bar with a woman and a group of friends on or about Nov. 16, according to court documents. After the bar closed, Bugarikj and the woman went to his home in Salt Lake City.
Bugarikj and the woman started kissing, according to court documents. When he began unbuttoning her pants, the woman allegedly said she did not want to have sex. Bugarikj allegedly replied, “Really?” He then allegedly pulled down her pants and forcibly had sex with her, court documents state.
In the court documents, the woman said Bugarikj “yanked her hair” and that she was in tears from the pain.
The woman said that when she attempted to leave, Bugarikj responded by “pushing her up against the wall” and allegedly having sex with her again, according to court documents.
The woman said she then went to the bathroom and requested a ride-share. When she came out of the bathroom, court documents state, the woman alleges that Bugarikj was waiting for her and he sexually assaulted her again.
A warrant has been issued for Bugarikj’s arrest.
