Ex-Bills punter Matt Araiza not current throughout alleged rape, prosecutors say: report

Former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza was not current for the alleged gang rape he was accused of taking part in with two of his soccer teammates that occurred at a celebration close to San Diego State’s campus in October 2021, prosecutors have reportedly discovered. 

Araiza had made the Bills’ 53-man roster because the group’s punter after successful the coaching camp battle final August. But all of that modified when the rookie, nicknamed the “Punt God” for his expertise in that space of soccer, was named in a civil lawsuit that supplied very graphic particulars of a gang rape of an intoxicated 17-year-old lady.

The lawsuit said that Araiza had thrown the lady on a mattress “face first” and she or he went out and in of consciousness whereas having unsolicited intercourse. The lawsuit added that it lasted an hour and a half, and she or he left the room bloodied and crying.

Following a 124-day investigation, prosecutors got here out on Dec. 7, 2022, and mentioned they wouldn’t press prices.

Yahoo Sports broke down what police and prosecutors present in a “200-plus web page transcript of a 100-minute assembly” the place a deputy district lawyer defined why they discovered no proof to press prices in opposition to Araiza or anybody else accused within the civil lawsuit to the lady and her attorneys.

The largest piece of proof that confirmed that Araiza allegedly wasn’t concerned was that he “left” the home the place the celebration was being thrown round 12:30 a.m. Prosecutors decided the alleged incident occurred an hour later.

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“He wasn’t even on the celebration anymore,” Deputy District Attorney Trisha Amador informed the plaintiff through Yahoo Sports. “All I do know is that at that time, suspect Araiza is gone from the celebration.”

There had been additionally movies of the incident contained in the bed room the place prosecutors didn’t see sufficient to say it was a gang rape as an alternative of consensual intercourse.

“In trying on the movies on the intercourse tape, I completely can not show any forceable sexual assault primarily based upon what occurred,” Amador defined.

Araiza has famous that any sort of sexual contact with the lady was consensual.

The incident that occurred at 1:30 a.m., one hour after prosecutors discovered that Araiza had left the celebration primarily based on the 35 witnesses that had been questioned, which included the lady’s associates, has video exhibiting two or three totally different males within the bed room with the lady.

Witnesses additionally mentioned that the lady, who bought into the celebration together with her different highschool associates after discovering it was a couple of blocks away from the San Diego State campus, was telling folks she was 18 years previous.

And whereas the lawsuit claims that she was “closely intoxicated,” witnesses can’t corroborate that piece of the story.

“A witness who was in the home gave a press release saying that at – not less than one level within the celebration, that you simply made a press release telling folks on the celebration you had been 18,” Amador informed the lady within the transcript. “Another witness on the celebration, a special one, says that they particularly heard you say you had been 18…”

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The civil lawsuit claimed that the lady was separated from her associates and Araiza had led her over to a facet yard and informed her to carry out sexual acts in opposition to her consent.

Araiza says that he was urinating in a personal space of the yard and that she walked there on her personal accord, not by his pressure. 

Witnesses additionally mentioned the lady was leaving and returning, saying that she had intercourse with somebody.

“The witnesses say…that shortly after you arrived on the celebration, you left and got here again shortly thereafter. And you informed [a friend], ‘I simply had intercourse,’” Amador mentioned to the lady. “You didn’t seem sad. You gave the impression to be having enjoyable and that the encounter on the facet of the home with Matt, suspect Araiza, was consensual.”

There was one other witness who claimed the lady was “approaching males on the celebration saying, ‘I need you to [expletive] me and for those who don’t [expletive] me you’re a [expletive].”

After the Araiza encounter, regardless of the civil lawsuit saying that he led her to a bed room, prosecutors discovered that she left her pal group once more and returned saying she had intercourse with a special man. Amador additionally made positive to level out once more that the lady wasn’t beneath the affect.

Since the accusation, Araiza was launched from the Bills and has but to be picked up by one other group within the league regardless of the December announcement that prices wouldn’t be pressed.

The Bills reportedly knew concerning the incident involving Araiza previous to him becoming a member of the group. They did their very own investigation on the matter and introduced him into the fold.

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The plaintiff’s lawyer, Dan Gilleon, shared the next assertion to Fox News Digital concerning this new report.

“Team Araiza continues to litigate the case within the media as a result of they know the data they’re leaking has no relevance in anyway to the lawsuit,” Gilleon mentioned. “Matt Araiza will gown up in a go well with and tie for television crews at a meaningless courtroom listening to, however he will not converse to the media like Jane Doe has and can proceed to do. The first time Araiza had an opportunity to inform his facet of the story was when he was contacted by the police. He took the fifth, asserting his proper to not incriminate himself. Since then, he has remained silent as his attorneys leak irrelevant data to the media and assault the sufferer, apparently considering that she’ll be bullied into dropping her case. It’s not going to occur. This case goes to trial, and we’ll pressure Araiza to speak.”

Gilleon beforehand informed San Diego’s CBS 8 that the witness who mentioned Araiza wasn’t current on the celebration on the time of the alleged rape is a “buddy” of his. 

Araiza was a sixth-round draft decide by the Bills within the 2022 NFL Draft. His 82-yard punt in a preseason sport with them went viral previous to being named the group’s punter out of camp.