Araiza, ex-SDSU players not charged in rape case

Former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza and erstwhile teammates connected the San Diego State shot squad volition not look transgression charges successful transportation with an alleged pack rape of a insignificant that occurred astatine an off-campus enactment successful October 2021, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

"Ultimately, prosecutors determined it is wide the grounds does not enactment the filing of transgression charges and determination is nary way to a imaginable transgression conviction," the District Attorney's Office said successful a statement. "Prosecutors tin lone record charges erstwhile they ethically judge they tin beryllium proven beyond a tenable doubt."

The DA's Office said the San Diego Police Department did not urge charges beryllium filed erstwhile the lawsuit was submitted successful aboriginal August.

A civilian suit remains ongoing.

The Bills released Araiza connected Aug. 27, 2 days aft a civil suit was filed accusing him of having enactment with a then-17-year-old precocious schoolhouse senior, who was nether the property of consent successful California, extracurricular an off-campus enactment held astatine his residence successful the aboriginal greeting of Oct. 17, 2021, erstwhile helium was a subordinate of the SDSU shot team. The suit states that Araiza, who was 21 astatine the time, past took her wrong the home, wherever astatine slightest 3 different men, including the different 2 defendants named successful the suit -- Araiza's then-Aztecs teammates Zavier Leonard and Nowlin Ewaliko -- were located and that she was repeatedly raped for astir an hr and a half. The suit states that nose, belly fastener and receptor piercings were pulled retired during the acts and that she was bleeding from her vagina.

The teen reported the rape to San Diego constabulary the pursuing day. Nine months later, connected Aug. 5, 2022, San Diego constabulary turned their probe implicit to prosecutors for review.

"I americium ne'er amazed erstwhile a authoritative does not record intersexual battle charges erstwhile the unfortunate was intoxicated," the plaintiff's attorney, Dan Gilleon, said successful a connection to ESPN. "It's a precise uncommon lawsuit wherever the transgression justness strategy achieves thing satisfactory for the unfortunate successful a intersexual assault.

"The suit we filed is not successful the transgression justness system. ... It is lone successful the civilian strategy that a unfortunate of intersexual battle tin execute justice, and we program to bash conscionable that."

Araiza's transgression attorney, Kerry Armstrong, antecedently told ESPN that his lawsuit spoke with the miss astatine the enactment but that the rape allegations are "just untrue." In a connection released aft the allegations were reported, Araiza said, "The facts of the incidental are not what they are portrayed successful the suit oregon successful the press. I look guardant to rapidly mounting the grounds straight."

Leonard's sanction was removed from the SDSU roster aft the suit was filed, and Ewaliko was not connected the roster erstwhile grooming campy began.

According to the connection Wednesday from the DA's Office, intersexual battle experts, including prosecutors and investigators, analyzed the grounds successful the case, including implicit 35 taped witnesser interviews, the results of a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) exam, DNA results, and "forensic grounds from compartment phones and video grounds of the incidental itself."

The DA's Office besides said it "met with the young pistillate astatine the halfway of this lawsuit twice" and besides "worked with SDPD to behaviour further investigation, which resulted successful interviewing further witnesses."