Ex Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza was not present at the time of an alleged gang rape according to prosecutors.
Yahoo Sports received a 200-plus page transcript of a 100-minute meeting last December between a San Diego district attorney, the alleged victim of sexual assault and her attorneys, where the results of the authorities’ investigation were presented.
Araiza Wasn’t At The Party
“He wasn’t even at the party anymore,” deputy district attorney Trisha Amador explained to the girl. Later Amador stated of the timeline of events, “All I know is that at that point, suspect Araiza is gone from the party.”
The alleged incident occurred during a party at a home near the campus while he was an athlete at San Diego State University during the early hours of Oct. 15, 2021.
The lawsuit, filed in August 2022, accuses Araiza of having sex with “Jane Doe” a then 17-year-old-high school senior, and under the age of consent in California. The suit states Araiza brought her inside a room where at least three other men were, and that she was repeatedly raped for about an hour and a half until the party was shut down.
But, according to Amador and the district attorney’s office, Araiza simply couldn’t have participated in the alleged rape because their evidence showed he left the party at 12:30 a.m., an hour before the alleged incident occurred.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Dan Gilleon, shared the following statement to Fox News Digital regarding this new report.
Jane Doe’s Lawyer Says Case Is Still Going To Trial
“Team Araiza continues to litigate the case in the media because they know the information they’re leaking has no relevance whatsoever to the lawsuit,” Gilleon said. “Matt Araiza will dress up in a suit and tie for tv crews at a meaningless court hearing, but he won’t speak to the media like Jane Doe has and will continue to do. The first time Araiza had a chance 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 attorneys leak irrelevant information to the media and attack the victim, apparently thinking that she’ll be bullied into dropping her case. It’s not going to happen. This case is going to trial, and we’ll force Araiza to talk.”
Gilleon also told San Diego’s CBS 8 that the witness who said Araiza wasn’t present at the party at the time of the alleged rape is a “buddy” of his.
This case is not over yet. While no criminal charges were filed, the civil suit remains and Gilleon is convinced the case is going to trial.
Even if Araiza was not present at the alleged gang rape, he hasn’t denied sexual intercourse with the alleged victim. Though he and his legal team will say it was consensual. And as in most cases of alleged sexual assault the accuser’s legal team will call into question the alleged victim’s sexual history, willingness to have sex, consumption of alcohol, etc.
All of it is ugly and disgusting and hurts the entire legal process for future victims.
If Jane Doe is lying and she willingly had sex with Araiza and made up the gang rape story she should be held accountable. If she was plied with alcohol and taken advantage of sexually by Araiza and anyone else, they should be held accountable.
But what we cannot do is make sweeping generalizations about anyone involved in alleged sexual assault cases. Alleged victims should feel safe enough to report incidents without their sexual histories being put on trial and the accused should have the opportunity to defend themselves.
