After having the criminal charges against him dropped, former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza now has to undergo a stressful process of fighting the civil lawsuit against him for an alleged gang rape at a college party that occurred when Arazia and the plaintiff were attending San Diego State University at the same time.
However, based on new information, that might be over soon, and potentially in Araiza’s favor.
Matt Araiza via CBS 8 San Diego YouTube
During a nearly year long investigation by San Diego police and detailed review by prosecutors, they have come to the conclusion that the alleged gang rape that the female plaintiff accused Araiza of being part of stands in question since evidence shows that Arazia, then a college student at the time when the plaintiff was 17-years-old, was not even present during the alleged crime.
Yahoo Sports has obtained a 200-plus page transcript, covering a meeting in which a San Diego deputy district attorney broke the back of the case.
According Yahoo Sports’ summary, “Araiza couldn’t have led the girl into the alleged gang rape because he had ‘left’ the home at about 12:30 a.m., an hour prior to when evidence suggested the alleged gang rape would have occurred.”
Matt Araiza via CBS 8 San Diego YouTube
RELATED: Former Bills Punter Matt Araiza Free Of Criminal Charges Regarding Gang Rape Accusation
Deputy district attorney Trisha Amador stated that “He wasn’t even at the party anymore. All I know is that at that point, suspect Araiza is gone from the party.”
Prosecutors additionally told the plaintiff that the recordings that were made of the situation “made it impossible” to identify Araiza or any other potential suspects since their faces and voices aren’t clear enough to make a prosecution.
Further, there are questions as to whether a rape occurred at all as the plaintiff claimed, and not a consensual sexual situation.
Matt Araiza via Buffalo Bills YouTube
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“In looking at the videos on the sex tape, I absolutely cannot prove any forceable sexual assault based upon what happened,” said Deputy DA Amador.
Because of this lawsuit, then-rookie Araiza was cut from the Bills team, crippling his rookie season so he could “take care of this situation,” according to Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane.
But Araiza isn’t out of the woods yet, despite the prosecutors themselves admitting he wasn’t present at the event – civil suits have a much lower standard of proof than criminal cases do.
As news broke of the developments in the civil suit, online figures in sports and media began to defend Arazia, including Daily Wire columnist Matt Walsh and Outkick.com founder Clay Travis.
“False rape accusers should receive the same penalty that we give to rapists,” Walsh posted to Twitter. “Instead, in a vast majority of cases, they receive no penalty at all and are free to move on like nothing happened. It’s unconscionable.”
Source: MattWalshBlog Twitter
“The Bills released punter Matt Araiza for an allegation of sexual assault that police proved was 100% a lie,” tweeted Travis. “Why shouldn’t his accuser face criminal charges for lying? He’s lost a year of his career & his good name. She has zero consequences. Not right.”
Source: ClayTravis Twitter
Thanks to all the legal trouble, Araiza is still a free agent. We’ve seen plenty of comebacks from legal trouble in the National Felon League. Araiza could be the next to move on to a respectable career.
What are your thoughts on the situation? Let us know in the comments below and across social media.