In a civil action filed on Thursday, a teenager was accused of being gang-raped at an off-campus party last autumn by Matt Araiza and two of his former San Diego State Aztecs teammates, including the “Punt God” who led the Aztecs to a record-breaking season before being selected by the Buffalo Bills.
Araiza, Zavier Leonard, and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko are charged in the case for allegedly gang-raping a girl who was then 17 during a Halloween party held at a residence where Araiza had previously resided. The lawsuit was filed in San Diego County Superior Court.
The complaint refers to the plaintiff, who is now 18 years old, as “Jane Doe” because she was a minor at the time.
San Diego Police have not made any arrests or made any suspects’ identities known to the general public.
According to a letter that SDSU President Adela de la Torre, Athletic Director John David Wicker, and Head Football Coach Brady Hoke issued to students and faculty on Thursday, the institution was looking into the claims on its own.
The letter said, “This subject includes a criminal case that is now being investigated by the Office of the District Attorney.”
Although no suspects have been named and no charges have been brought as of yet, if anything changes, we will inform the campus community.
On the San Diego State roster, Leonard is described as an offensive lineman from Arlington, Texas who is a redshirt freshman. Ewaliko, a defensive lineman from Seattle, was mentioned on the 2021 roster but is not featured on it for this year.
The youngster was “observably inebriated upon arriving,” according to the complaint, after drinking with pals before they made the decision to attend the party on October 17.
According to the complaint, she became separated from her pals when Araiza approached her and gave her a drink. According to the lawsuit, she thinks the beverage “included additional intoxicating chemicals in addition to alcohol.”
The complaint claims that she claimed to be a senior in high school to Araiza, who was 21 at the time. She claims that after asking her to perform oral sex, he took her to a side yard where they had intercourse before bringing her into the house’s bedroom.
According to the complaint, in addition to Leonard and Ewaliko, there were at least three additional males there.
According to the complaint, Araiza shoved the adolescent into the bed face first as she was being raped and passed out on and off.
But she does recall certain incidents from the horrifying gang rape, it was said.
The kid “stumbled out of the room wounded and weeping” after an hour and a half, according to the lawsuit. She had had her ear, belly button, and nose pierced.
She promptly informed her companions of the rape, reported it to the police the next day, and had a rape examination, claims the complaint.
According to the lawsuit, officers gave her advice on how to reach Araiza, which she did 10 days later while investigators videotaped it.
According to the complaint, Araiza acknowledged having sex with her during the conversation, but when she questioned him, “”This is Matt Araiza,” he said, “and did we really have sex. I don’t recall anything that occurred that evening “then hung up.
Attorney Dan Gilleon told the AP that “this was a horrifying crime, the type that occurs all too frequently.”
The Buffalo Bills and other organisations, from the university to them, “have acted the part of enablers looking the other way in denial that my client deserves justice even if the defendants are prized athletes,” according to Gilleon, who claimed that this case is particularly egregious because it not only involved “self-entitled athletes.”
The case was originally covered by the Los Angeles Times.
Based on the findings of an investigator he hired, Araiza’s lawyer Kerry Armstrong, who is representing him in the criminal inquiry, declared the accusations to be unfounded.
According to Armstrong, “I 100% do not think that he ever had intercourse with her when she was passed out, inebriated, or anything like that, or that he ever violently raped this female.” “She should not have brought a civil lawsuit. I believe it is a money grab.”
Armstrong said that since he had been in contact with the club ever since the punter hired him around six weeks ago, the Bills were informed about the accusations against and inquiry against Araiza before the lawsuit was filed.
“You can image how unhappy Matt Araiza is about this. He is quite dissatisfied “stated Armstrong. But he will finally get his day in court.
According to Armstrong, the police’s criminal investigation is almost through, and the district attorney will now decide whether to pursue charges after reviewing the findings.
Both Jamahl Kersey, who represents Leonard, and Marc Xavier Carlos, who is defending Ewaliko in a criminal case, told the Times they were unable to respond.
The complaint was filed a few days after the Bills released veteran punter Matt Haack, allowing Araiza to take over punting responsibilities. Araiza was selected by Buffalo in the sixth round because to his powerful left leg.
The most well-known player for SDSU during a school-record 12-2 season that earned them a No. 25 rating in the final AP Top 25 poll was 22-year-old Araiza, a product of Rancho Bernardo High in San Diego.
With his incredible punts, which often turned the field, he broke the NCAA record with an average of 51.19 yards. He was a first-team AP All-American and the Ray Guy Award winner.
The Bills released a statement saying, “We were just made aware of a legal case involving Matt from October 2021.
“We thoroughly investigated this situation since the allegation was so severe.
We won’t have any further comments at this time since this is a civil lawsuit that is still pending.”
The Bills made the trip to Carolina for Friday night’s preseason game against the Panthers. Despite the fact that the Bills don’t have another punter on their roster, it’s uncertain whether Araiza will play against the Panthers. Since then, Haack has committed to the Indianapolis Colts.