P Matt Araiza Will Not Be Charged In Connection With Alleged Gang Rape

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office is not charging former Bills punter Matt Araiza in connection with an alleged gang rape, Alex Riggins of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (on Twitter).

Araiza was named in a civil lawsuit that accused he and two other San Diego State football players of raping a then-17-year-old girl in October 2021. The accusation led to the Bills cutting Araiza in August. Buffalo drafted Araiza, 22, in this year’s sixth round. None of the other players implicated in the suit will be charged, according to the Union-Tribune’s Lyndsay Winkley and Teri Figueroa.

The civil suit alleges Araiza had sex with the accuser at an off-campus party and brought her into a bedroom where “a group” of men raped her. The teen said she told friends immediately after she had been raped, and she reported it to the San Diego Police Department the next day. The case went to prosecutors for review in August, but Wednesday’s development will not lead to charges.

The DA’s office indicated it is “clear the evidence does not support the filing of criminal charges and there is no path to a potential criminal conviction.” The accuser’s attorney said (via The Athletic’s Tim Graham, on Twitter) the victim’s intoxication on the night of the alleged rape influenced the police’s view of the case. Araiza’s attorney called the civil suit a shakedown in August.

Araiza won the Ray Guy award as the top Division I-FBS punter last season and was drafted 180th overall. The Bills waived him two days after the civil suit surfaced. Buffalo has used Sam Martin, whom Denver released after training camp, as its punter this season.

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