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Former Bills punter Matt Araiza is speaking out after being exonerated of criminal rape charges.
Last week, prosecutors revealed that Araiza had left a party before an alleged gang rape occurred and that he would not face criminal charges.
Via Yahoo Sports
Araiza remains out of football despite prosecutors announcing on Dec. 7, 2022, that after conducting their own 124-day investigation, they wouldn’t press any criminal charges in the case. However, few details, let alone their reasoning or additional exculpatory evidence, were included in the initial statement.
A fuller picture of what police and prosecutors found, however, is now available via a 200-plus-page transcript obtained by Yahoo Sports of a 100-minute meeting in which a deputy district attorney offered a detailed explanation to the girl and her attorneys.
Perhaps most notably, the district attorney’s office concluded that Araiza couldn’t have led the girl into the alleged gang rape because he “left” the home at about 12:30 a.m., an hour prior to when evidence suggested the alleged gang rape would have occurred.
“He wasn’t even at the party anymore,” deputy district attorney Trisha Amador explained. Later, Amador stated of the timeline of events, “All I know is that at that point, suspect Araiza is gone from the party.”
Additionally, prosecutors told the girl that video recordings of the incident in the bedroom made it impossible to determine — let alone prosecute anyone — whether there was a gang rape at all that night, rather than consensual sex with the other men.
Despite criminal charges being dropped, the accuser appears to be still going forward with a civil suit against Araiza.
As civil lawsuit against Matt Araiza proceeds, documents have emerged showing that prosecutors concluded he was not present when alleged gang rape occurred. https://t.co/d0bvMB6o4X
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 9, 2023
A civil lawsuit filed last summer against Bills punter Matt Araiza resulted in the team abruptly cutting ties with the sixth-round draft pick. While the lawsuit still continues, prosecutors who explored criminal charges concluded that Araiza left a party before an alleged gang rape occurred.
During a recent interview with Outkick’s Tomi Lahren, Araiza explained his decision not to settle with the accuser and said there’s a possibility he may sue her if she continues with her lawsuit against him.
“The damage has been done, and if I was to settle, that would waive my right to countersue. So at this point, we’re the heavy favorite, and continuing this any longer is going to be very damaging for them. So I’m not willing to settle.”
You can watch Lahren’s full interview with Araiza below.