BUFFALO, N.Y. — Bills rookie punter Matt Araiza has been accused along with two others of gang raping a 17-year-old girl last year in a lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court on Thursday.
The lawsuit, obtained by ESPN, involves allegations against three current and former San Diego State Aztecs football players, including Araiza, who starred for the team last season. The other men named in the complaint are Zavier Leonard, a redshirt freshman at San Diego State, and Nowlin Ewaliko, who was a freshman last season but is no longer on the listed roster.
The lawsuit accuses Araiza, 22, of forcing the then-high school senior to have sex with him outside at an off-campus party held at his residence during the early hours of Oct. 17, 2021. The suit states Araiza then brought her inside a room where at least three other men were, including Leonard and Ewaliko. She was repeatedly raped for about an hour and a half until the party was shut down.
Dan Gilleon, the attorney who filed the lawsuit, told ESPN that the Bills were made aware about the allegations as recently as the end of July, when he emailed the team’s representation.
In a statement Thursday, the Bills said they “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.”
The NFL said in a statement that it was also aware of the incident but declined to comment. Because the alleged rape happened before Araiza was drafted, he would not be subject to the league’s personal conduct policy.
The suit’s filing was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
It states that the minor, named as Jane Doe, went in and out of consciousness but remembers moments as the men took turns assaulting her. The suit states that her nose, belly button and ear piercings had been pulled out during the…
Source : espn
