{"id":56879,"date":"2022-08-26T08:25:19","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T08:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/bills-punter-matt-araiza-former-san-diego-state-teammates-accused-in-rape-lawsuit\/"},"modified":"2022-08-26T08:25:19","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T08:25:19","slug":"bills-punter-matt-araiza-former-san-diego-state-teammates-accused-in-rape-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/bills-punter-matt-araiza-former-san-diego-state-teammates-accused-in-rape-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Bills punter Matt Araiza, former San Diego State teammates accused in rape lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Buffalo Bills rookie punter Matt Araiza and two former San Diego State teammates have been accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old high school student last year, a civil suit filed Thursday in California alleges. Araiza, Zavier Leonard and Pa’a Ewaliko are accused of rape, false imprisonment and gender-violence crimes stemming from a Halloween party at Araiza’s residence on Oct. 17, 2021.<\/p>\n

According to the suit filed by attorney Dan Gilleon, the plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe, was \u201cinebriated\u201d when she arrived and given more alcohol by Araiza, who was 21 at the time, before he ordered her to perform oral sex on him in a side yard The lawsuit alleges that Araiza had sex with her outside before taking her inside to a bedroom where Leonard and Ewaliko were waiting. They all took turns sexually assaulting her for about 90 minutes as she went in and out of consciousness, the argument alleges.<\/p>\n

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Source tells me the Bills were made aware of the accusations against Araiza last month. They did not know when they drafted him, but did know when they cut Matt Haack on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tim Graham (@ByTimGraham) August 26, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The claims Doe went to the San Diego Police Department the next day, and that a police investigation involved detectives coaching her through supervised conversations with Araiza and includes direct quotes from Araiza advising her to be examined for a sexually transmitted disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a horrific crime, the kind of which happens all too often,\u201d Gilleon said in a statement. \u201cWhat makes these crimes different is not only that they were committed by self-entitled athletes. Just as awful as the crimes, for months, multiple organizations \u2014 SDSU, the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego District Attorney, and now the Buffalo Bills \u2014 have acted the part of enablers looking the other way in denial that my client deserves justice even if the defendants are awarded athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The police investigation into Araiza, Leonard and Ewaliko is still ongoing. An attempt by The Athletic<\/em> to reach Araiza’s attorney Thursday was not immediately returned.<\/p>\n

A source told The Athletic<\/em> the Bills were not aware of the aforesaid but they were drafted Araiz were informed of a possible civil lawsuit last month. In a statement Thursday night, the Bills said: \u201cWe were recently made aware of a civil complaint involving Matt from October 2021. Due to the serious nature of the complaint, we conducted a thorough examination of this matter. As this is an ongoing civil case, we will have no other comment at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three days before the filing was made, Araiza, Buffalo’s sixth-round draft pick in 2022, won the punting job when the team released veteran incumbent Matt Haack. Haack has since signed with the Colts.<\/p>\n

Araiza traveled Thursday with the Bills to their final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers and is expected to play Friday night.<\/p>\n

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(Photo: Mark Konezny \/ USA Today)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n