The prosecutor’s office determined that “there is no path to a potential criminal sentence,” so the former NFL player will not be subject to criminal prosecution; a civil lawsuit is pending
Former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza and his former San Diego State college football teammates will not face criminal charges in connection with the alleged rape of a minor that occurred during a party on the college campus. school in October 2021, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
“Ultimately, prosecutors determined that there is no clear evidence to support the criminal charges and there is no pathway to a potential criminal sentence,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “Prosecutors may only file charges when they ethically believe that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt”.
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The district attorney’s office said the San Diego Police Department did not recommend charging when the case was filed in early August.
A civil lawsuit remains in process.
The Bills released Araiza on Aug. 27, two days after a civil lawsuit was filed accusing him of having sex with a then-17-year-old high school girl who was under the legal age of consent for the state of California. , outside a party held at his campus residence on the morning of October 17, 2021, when Araiza was a member of the SDSU football team. The lawsuit alleges that Araiza, who was 21 years old at the time, took her into the home, where at least three other men, including two defendants named in the action — Araiza’s then-team teammates Aztecs, Zavier Leonard and Nowlin Ewaliko– were present, and that she was repeatedly raped for about an hour and a half. The lawsuit alleges that her nose, belly button and ear studs were ripped off during the acts, and that she was bleeding from her vagina.
The Bills released Matt Araiza on Aug. 27, two days after the civil lawsuit was filed accusing him of having sex with a then-17-year-old high school girl. AP Photo
The teen reported the rape to San Diego police the next day. Nine months later, on August 5, 2022, the San Diego police turned the investigation over to prosecutors for review.
“I am never surprised when a prosecutor decides not to pursue sexual assault charges where the victim was intoxicated,” plaintiff’s attorney Dan Gilleon said in a statement to ESPN. “It’s a very rare case where the justice system achieves something satisfactory for the victim of a sexual assault.
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“The lawsuit we filed is not part of the criminal justice system…it is only in the civil system where a victim of sexual assault can get justice, and we plan to do just that.”
Araiza’s criminal attorney, Kerry Armstrong, previously told ESPN that her client chatted with the girl at the party, but that the rape allegations are “just false.” In a statement issued after the allegations were reported, Araiza said, “The facts of the incident are not what is described in the lawsuit or in the press. I look forward to setting things right quickly.”
Leonard’s name was removed from SDSU’s roster after the lawsuit was filed, and Ewaliko was not with the team once training camp began.
According to the statement on Wednesday from the prosecutor’s office, sex crimes experts, including prosecutors and investigators, analyzed the evidence in the case, including more than 35 recorded interviews of witnesses, the results of the Sexual Assault Response Team examination ( SART), DNA results, and forensic evidence from mobile phones and video of the incident itself.”
The district attorney’s office also said it met “with the young woman at the center of this case, twice,” and that it “worked with the SDPD to conduct an in-depth investigation, resulting in the interview of additional witnesses.”
San Diego State President Adela de la Torre said in a statement Wednesday that an investigation into the student’s conduct is ongoing, after the institution received permission last July from San Diego police in conduct your own investigation.
