Mar 5, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Diego State place kicker Matt Araiza (PK01) talks to the media during the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
NFL: Scouting Combine
(New York, NY) — Punter Matt Araiza, who lost his NFL job after being implicated in an alleged gang rape, wasn’t present when the alleged incident occurred, Yahoo reported.
The information came from unsealed documents from the prosecution.Araiza and two of his former San Diego State teammates were accused of gang rape at a party in what was a civil suit last year. Prosecutors declined to press charges in December due to a lack of evidence.
However, a 200-page transcript detailed a meeting between deputy district attorney Trisha Amador and the accuser.
The conversation included Amador saying to the accuser that Araiza couldn’t lead her to the gang rape because he left the house an hour prior to the incident.
“All I know is that at that point, suspect Araiza is gone from the party,” Amador said in the transcript.
The woman told police that Araiza and two teammates at San Diego State were at a party on Oct. 15, 2021, when Araiza walked her into a bedroom where “at least three other men” were waiting for her, according to a civil lawsuit she filed. Then 17, she said Araiza threw her on the bed and was part of a gang rape over a 90-minute period.
Araiza has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings. His parents released a statement shortly after the lawsuit became public. They said Araiza was “tried and convicted in the media.”
The Buffalo Bills selected Araiza with the first pick of the sixth round in the 2022 draft. A prolific punter in college, he earned the starting job in preseason, but after the allegations emerged, the Bills cut the 22-year-old./
