OT-ish: New info sheds light on prosecutors' decision not to charge former SDSU punter Matt Araiza who was accused of rape
TL;DR - New information indicates that the rape allegations against former SDSU punter Matt Araiza may be false.
Former SDSU punter Matt Araiza and other SDSU players were accused of gang raping a high school girl at a party, leading to Araiza being cut by the Bills (who had drafted him in 2022) and essentially blacklisted from the NFL. The girl filed a civil lawsuit against Araiza, and the allegations in the lawsuit are shocking to say the least.
Apparently, San Diego prosecutors conducted their own investigation into the allegations (separate from the investigation that the police had conducted), as a result of which they decided not to file criminal charges against Araiza and the other accused SDSU players. They also met with the accuser and her attorneys to explain their decision. Yahoo Sports obtained a transcript of that meeting, which reveals potentially exculpatory information about the alleged encounter. Per Yahoo Sports' report, prosecutors informed the girl that they believe Araiza left the party before the time the gang rape was alleged to have occurred. They also told her that witness testimony conflicted with her claim that she had been raped and supported the claims of the accused SDSU players that any sexual encounter that may have occured was consensual.
If the information in the transcript and Yahoo Sports' report is accurate and Araiza really didn't rape anyone, then let's hope he's fully exonerated in the court of public opinion and is able to get his career back on track. And if Araiza is innocent, we can also take this episode off the list of Brady Hoke's shortcomings.
She was underage.
One thing I've learned in life is to always accept that these accusations are terrible and that judgement should be reserved. Most of the time, something bad did happen, whether it rises to the level of a crime that society deems punishable is a matter for the prosecutors to determine.
It sounds to me in this case, a lot of people rushed to judgement about one particular individual and San Diego prosecutors office did its job and determined a different result. Mr. Araiza does have recourse in the Civil court system which I hope he is getting council about.
These cases suck without hard evidence which unfortunately usually comes with injury, trauma, DNA a good witness or a lucky video evidence. The he said she said part is terrible because heated moments can often be interpreted differently by two people. So many go unprosecuted for this very reason, only the two people involved really know and both are going to make statements that support their own self preservation. Rape cases are among the hardest for everyone involved.