A new football player for the Buffalo Bills is facing legal trouble after being accused of gang-raping a minor when he was attending college in 2021.
Matt Araiza, a punter who earned the nickname “punt god” for his kicking in college, is one of three men accused in a lawsuit of a gang-rape involving a 17-year-old girl while playing for San Diego State University’s football team, according to the Los Angeles Times. The lawsuit claims Araiza, 22, had sex with the girl outside a home hosting an off-campus party and that the girl was then brought inside the house where she was repeatedly raped, according to the outlet.
“We were recently made aware of a civil complaint involving Matt from October 2021,” a statement from the Buffalo Bills read, according to Spectrum News 1. “Due to the serious nature of the complaint, we conducted a thorough examination of this matter. As this is an ongoing civil case legal, we will have no other comment at this point.”
#Bills statement: We 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 legal, we will have no other comment at this point
— Jon Scott (@JonScottTV) August 25, 2022
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The victim, who was a high school student at the time, went in and out of consciousness during the gang-rape but remembered moments from it as the men assaulted her, the lawsuit states, according to the outlet.
Araiza’s lawyer, Kerry Armstrong, told the outlet that he had not reviewed the complaint against Araiza but claimed that the accusation is not true. He also stated that his investigator spoke to witnesses who attended the same party and that their accounts contradict the allegations.
“It’s a shakedown because he’s now with the Buffalo Bills,” Armstrong said. “There is no doubt in my mind that Araiza didn’t rape the teen.”
The other two men accused in the lawsuit are Zavier Leonard and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko, the outlet reported. Leonard is the only one of the three accused who is still on the college team’s roster this year.
Jamahl Kersey, Leonard’s attorney, said he has not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on the accusation but that a criminal investigation on the situation is ongoing and that no conclusions should be drawn yet, he told the outlet. Marc Xavier Carlos, Ewaliko’s attorney, also claimed he could not comment on the lawsuit but did mention that Ewaliko is no longer enrolled at the school, the outlets reported.
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Detectives have submitted their investigation to the San Diego County district attorney’s office to determine if charges should be filed. There have been no arrests made in this investigation yet, according to the outlet.
