Former Buffalo Bills kicker Matt Araiza was not present at the alleged gang rape he was accused of participating in with two of his football teammates that occurred at a party near the San Diego State campus in October. 2021, according to reports, according to prosecutors.
Araiza had made the Bills’ 53-man roster as the team’s punter after winning the training camp battle last August. But all that changed when the rookie, nicknamed the «Punt God» for his skills in that area of football, was named in a civil lawsuit that provided highly graphic details of an intoxicated gang rape of a 17-year-old girl.
The lawsuit said Araiza had thrown the girl on a bed «face down» and she drifted in and out of consciousness while engaging in unsolicited sex. The lawsuit added that it lasted an hour and a half, and she left the room bloody and crying.
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Buffalo Bills kicker Matt Araiza walks on the sideline during the first half of an NFL preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts in Orchard Park, NY on August 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File)
Following a 124-day investigation, prosecutors came out on December 7, 2022, saying they would not file charges.
yahoo sports broke down what police and prosecutors found in a «more than 200-page transcript of a 100-minute meeting» where a deputy district attorney explained why they found no evidence to charge Araiza or anyone else charged in the lawsuit civil to the girl and her lawyers
The biggest piece of evidence showing that Araiza was allegedly not involved was that he «left» the house where the party was being organized around 12:30 am Prosecutors determined that the alleged incident occurred an hour later.
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“I wasn’t even at the party anymore,” Assistant District Attorney Trisha Amador told the plaintiff via Yahoo Sports. «All I know is that at that point, the suspect Araiza is no longer at the party.»
There were also videos of the incident inside the bedroom where prosecutors didn’t see enough to say it was a gang rape rather than consensual sex.
«Looking at the videos in the sex tape, I absolutely cannot prove any forcible sexual assault based on what happened,» Amador explained.
Araiza has indicated that any type of sexual contact with the girl was consented to.
Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza, left, celebrates with placekicker Tyler Bass, right, after Bass kicked the go-ahead field goal in the second half of a preseason game NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, August 13, 2022. at Orchard Park, New York (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
The incident that occurred at 1:30 a.m., an hour after prosecutors determined that Araiza had left the party based on the 35 witnesses who were questioned, including friends of the girl, has a video which shows two or three different men in the bedroom with the girl. .
Witnesses also said the girl, who walked into the party with her other high school friends after finding out it was just a few blocks from the San Diego State campus, was telling people she was 18.
And while the lawsuit claims she was «severely intoxicated,» witnesses can’t corroborate that part of the story.
“A witness who was at the house gave a statement saying that at least at one point at the party, you made a statement telling people at the party that you were 18 years old,” Amador told the girl in the transcript. «Another witness at the party, a different one, says that they specifically heard you say that you were 18 years old…»
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The civil lawsuit alleges that the girl was separated from her friends and that Araiza took her to a side yard and told her to perform sexual acts against her consent.
Araiza says that he was urinating in a private area of the backyard and that she walked there of her own free will, not by force.
Witnesses also said that the girl was leaving and coming back, saying that she had sex with someone.
“Witnesses say… that shortly after you arrived at the party, you left and returned shortly after. and you said [a friend], ‘I just had sex,'» Amador told the girl. «You didn’t seem unhappy. You seemed to have fun and that the meeting at the side of the house with Matt, Araiza’s suspect, was consensual.»
Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza greets fans after an NFL preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Orchard Park, New York on Saturday, August 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File)
There was another witness who stated that the girl «went up to the men at the party saying: ‘I want you to [expletive] me and if you don’t [expletive] I am a [expletive].»
After the encounter with Araiza, despite the civil suit saying he took her to a bedroom, prosecutors found that she left her friend group again and came back saying she had sex with a different man. Amador also made sure to point out again that the girl was not under the influence.
Since the indictment, Araiza has been released from the Bills and has yet to be picked up by another team in the league despite the December announcement that no charges would be filed.
The Bills reportedly knew about the incident involving Araiza before he joined the team. They did their own research on the matter and brought it into the fold.
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Plaintiff’s attorney, Dan Gilleon, shared the following statement with Fox News Digital regarding this new report.
“The Araiza team continues to litigate the case in the media because they know that the information they are leaking has no relevance to the lawsuit,” Gilleon said. «Matt Araiza will dress in a suit and tie for the television crews in a pointless court hearing, but he will not speak to the media as Jane Doe has and will continue to do. The first time Araiza had the opportunity to tell his side of the story was when he was contacted by the police. He took the fifth, asserting his right not to incriminate himself. Since then, he has remained silent as his lawyers leak irrelevant information to the media and attack the victim, apparently thinking she will be intimidated to drop his case. It’s not going to happen. This case will go to trial and we’ll force Araiza to speak.»
Gilleon previously told San Diego’s CBS 8 that the witness who said Araiza was not present at the party at the time of the alleged rape is a «friend» of hers.
Matt Araiza of the Buffalo Bills walks onto the field during practice on August 5, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York. (Joshua Bessex/Getty Images)
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Araiza was selected in the sixth round by the Bills in the 2022 NFL Draft. His 82-yard punt in a preseason game with them went viral before he was named the team’s punter out of camp.