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Former Bills punter Matt Araiza was not present at time of alleged gang rape, prosecutors say


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Prosecutors in San Diego say former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza was not present at an October 2021 party when an alleged gang rape of a minor occurred, according to documents and audio recordings obtained by Yahoo and ESPN. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Araiza and two San Diego State teammates were accused in a civil lawsuit of gang-raping a teenager at an off-campus party. After an investigation involving more than 35 witness interviews and evidence from 10 search warrants, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office in December 2022 decided to not charge Araiza or his teammates.
  • Video timestamps, according to Yahoo and ESPN, show the alleged incident occurring at 1:30 a.m. the night of the party. San Diego deputy district attorney Trisha Amador said Araiza had left the party approximately one hour before the alleged incident was said to have occurred.
  • According to ESPN and Yahoo, Amador tells the accuser and her attorney during a meeting that Araiza “wasn’t even at the party anymore.” “…All I know is that at that point, suspect Araiza is gone from the party,” she added.

Araiza, an NCAA record-breaking punter at San Diego State, was selected by the Bills in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Buffalo released him two days after the civil suit was filed. He remains out of football.

Dan Gilleon, the accuser’s attorney, could not be reached for comment, according to Yahoo Sports.

What else do the audio and documents reveal?

Prosecutors told the accuser that video recordings made by the accuser and two or three men in in the room during the incident didn’t provide any insight if this was a gang rape or consensual sex, adding that there certainly wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute anyone for gang rape.

“In looking at the videos on the sex tape, I absolutely cannot prove any forceable sexual assault based upon what happened,” Amador said.

Additionally, videos from the incident showed no signs of ripped piercings or blood from any wounds as alleged by the accuser. At the conclusion of their investigation, Amador said that the accuser’s physical state and behavior on the videos made prosecution unthinkable. “I don’t see any elements of force being used in the sexual encounter,” Amador said.

Backstory

The lawsuit, filed in California, alleged Araiza and former San Diego State teammates Zavier Leonard and Pa’a Ewaliko committed rape, false imprisonment and gender-violence crimes at a Halloween party at Araiza’s residence on Oct. 17, 2021.

San Diego police said in August 2022 they had turned over their investigation into the allegations to the DA’s office. The DA’s office said in December it “meticulously analyzed all the evidence in the case, including over 35 taped witness interviews, the results of a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) exam, DNA results and evidence derived from 10 search warrants.” It added that its office worked with the SDPD to “conduct further investigation, which resulted in interviewing additional witnesses.”

The DA’s office said it met with the accuser twice and “offered support from the DA’s Victim Services, consistent with trauma-informed practices of the DA’s Sex Crimes Division.”

“Ultimately, prosecutors determined it is clear the evidence does not support the filing of criminal charges and there is no path to a potential criminal conviction,” the DA’s office said in a release. “Prosecutors can only file charges when they ethically believe they can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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this is great news for Araiza. Happy to hear he was not involved in the alleged gang rape.

does not change the fact he admitted to having sex with an underage female unable to give consent.

sadly, Bills had no choice but to cut ties at the time.

Since the sex with the minor appears to be consensual and the family is not presently pressing charges of any kind to our knowledge. He definitely deserves another chance to play in NFL. I hope he gets it. And learned from all this.

cba fan

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10 minutes ago, thinwhiteduke said:

 

Wow, real breaking news there.....

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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9 hours ago, cba fan said:

this is great news for Araiza. Happy to hear he was not involved in the alleged gang rape.

does not change the fact he admitted to having sex with an underage female unable to give consent.

sadly, Bills had no choice but to cut ties at the time.

Since the sex with the minor appears to be consensual and the family is not presently pressing charges of any kind to our knowledge. He definitely deserves another chance to play in NFL. I hope he gets it. And learned from all this.

You must have missed that she was going around the party telling everyone she was 18. Also, police didn't charge Punt God with having sex with a minor. They don't need the girl to press charges to do that. It never happened.

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Total vindication for The Punt God and a very embarrassing day for the @seandelevanof the world who agreed that he should be cut. Guy lost everything because the liberal media had him guilty before all the facts came out. 

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The Things that unite us are far greater than the things that divide us.

 

"Are you a Jedi?" "I am" Din Djarin to Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian

 

"The Force, it's calling to you. Just let it in." - Maz Kanata: Star Wars VII The Force Awakens

 

#Cup or Bust 2024 #Bowl or Bust 2023 - It is the way.

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26 minutes ago, daryls61 said:

Total vindication for The Punt God and a very embarrassing day for the @seandelevanof the world who agreed that he should be cut. Guy lost everything because the liberal media had him guilty before all the facts came out. 

Liberal media? I think you spelled sports wrong.

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes.

A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production.

Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

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3 hours ago, daryls61 said:

Total vindication for The Punt God and a very embarrassing day for the @seandelevanof the world who agreed that he should be cut. Guy lost everything because the liberal media had him guilty before all the facts came out. 

I don't like what happened to the kid, but the Bills still had no choice to cut him. And I thought the girl was full of shit from the beginning. 

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1 hour ago, Dragon said:

I don't like what happened to the kid, but the Bills still had no choice to cut him. And I thought the girl was full of shit from the beginning. 

They had a choice which was not to cut him. They look like fools now along with everyone else that convicted the Punt God without all the facts. I hope they learned their lesson and do the right thing and re-sign him.

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The Things that unite us are far greater than the things that divide us.

 

"Are you a Jedi?" "I am" Din Djarin to Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian

 

"The Force, it's calling to you. Just let it in." - Maz Kanata: Star Wars VII The Force Awakens

 

#Cup or Bust 2024 #Bowl or Bust 2023 - It is the way.

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Good for him, now he should have grounds to sue someone.....girl sees he goes viral in pre-season for 82 yd punt, recognizes him, thinks is her chance for her 15 mins, and not only did it not happen, guys wasn't even there and she was willingly get banged, and there's no way that he's not the Bills Punter if he was never accused, there's grounds somewhere there

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2 hours ago, Dragon said:

From a PR stand point, the Bills were in a no win situation. They really had no choice but to cut him at the time. 

That doesn't make it right. It was the wrong decision. A mob mentality is the stance of the mentally weak. 

The Things that unite us are far greater than the things that divide us.

 

"Are you a Jedi?" "I am" Din Djarin to Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian

 

"The Force, it's calling to you. Just let it in." - Maz Kanata: Star Wars VII The Force Awakens

 

#Cup or Bust 2024 #Bowl or Bust 2023 - It is the way.

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The Bills do not exist to be a charity non-profit or a social services organization, although their charity works are noteworthy.  They did what they had to do at the time for the good of the Professional Football Organization.  I would like to see him get signed if for no other reason than to show his abilities to the rest of the league if it turns out they need to wave him.  Go, Punt god.  

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22 hours ago, Dragon said:

When a 17yo is on video lying about her age repeatedly before sucking off and fucking a bunch of guys, there are absolutely no grounds for statutory rape charges. 
 

You know what's completely fucked up?

In a lot of states, you can still be charged with statutory rape under that exact scenario. She could even show you a fake ID and, somehow, you still wouldn't be able to use that as a defense. Unreal.

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On 5/9/2023 at 7:41 PM, Dragon said:

When a 17yo is on video lying about her age repeatedly before sucking off and fucking a bunch of guys, there are absolutely no grounds for statutory rape charges. 
 

you are wrong. Yes they can be charged. Not likely i would bet, but it is possible. Statutory rape laws vary some from state to state. But you can be charged.

What if a Minor Lies About Their Age? | Blank Law, PC (nicoleblankbecker.com)

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16 hours ago, daryls61 said:

You must have missed that she was going around the party telling everyone she was 18. Also, police didn't charge Punt God with having sex with a minor. They don't need the girl to press charges to do that. It never happened.

he did have sex with a minor. It did happen. Police chose to not prosecute so far.

cba fan

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