The woman who says that she was gang raped by Matt Araiza and two of his then teammates from San Diego State University has accused the trio of leaving her bleeding, ripping out her piercings and taking her phone from her during the alleged attack.
In a new interview with CBS News, the unnamed woman said: ‘I was crying, and my friend asked me what happened. And I told her, “I had just been raped.”‘
The teen shared photos showing her bruises and injuries following her encounter.
Araiza, 22, has been accused along with two others of gang raping a 17-year-old girl last year in a civil lawsuit filed on Thursday and was released by the team on Saturday.
In the 2022 NFL Draft, Araiza was drafted in the sixth round by the Buffalo Bills. He was released from the team on August 27 following the gang rape allegations.
The lawsuit, filed in San Diego County Superior Court, accuses Araiza, Zavier Leonard and Nowlin ‘Pa’a’ Ewaliko of gang raping the teen at a Halloween party.
In a new interview with CBS News, the unnamed woman said: ‘I was crying, and my friend asked me what happened. And I told her, “I had just been raped’
The victim shared photos with CBS News showing the injuries that she apparently suffered at the hands of former Buffalo Bills star Matt Araizia
The victim said in the interview: ”I was having to deal with this horrible traumatic experience that I never asked for’
Araiza’s lawyer said of the victim’s allegations: ‘I do not know what happened to this young lady in the bedroom of the house, but I do know that Araiza had nothing to do with it’
A lawsuit on the allegations , filed in San Diego County Superior Court, accuses Araiza, Zavier Leonard and Nowlin ‘Pa’a’ Ewaliko of gang raping the teen at a Halloween party at this home
At the time of the alleged attack, the teen was just 17 years old. In screenshots from her journal, the teen wrote following the encounter: ‘All I keep replaying in my mind is being face down in a random bed just waiting for it to be over.’
She told the network: ‘I was having to deal with this horrible traumatic experience that I never asked for.’
In a separate interview, Araizia lawyer, Kerry Armstrong said he doesn’t expect his client to be charged with a crime.
Armstrong told CBS News: ‘If she really was raped in that back bedroom, that’s horrible. It’s a horrible thing to happen to anybody.’
He went on: ‘But all I know is that Mr. Araiza had nothing to do with it, and the only thing I can think of as to why she’s included him in this civil lawsuit is because of money.’
When the issue of money was put the victim, she told CBS News that it made her feel ‘sick to the stomach.’
She went on: ‘I reported it the day after it happened. I was 17 years old and I had no idea who Matt Araiza was.’
The woman concluded: ‘I can’t put into words how upsetting it was when I’ve been facing consequences for his actions.’
In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com, Armstrong that he has several witnesses who will directly refute most of what the accuser is alleging against Araiza.
He said: ‘Matt never offered or gave her a drink. He never put any drug or substance in a drink. He never led her to a bedroom inside the house. And he definitely never raped her in any way, shape, or form.’
Armstrong continued: ‘In fact, he was never in a bedroom in the house that night. From what I have seen so far, the accuser is the only one who is saying that he was.’
‘I do not know what happened to this young lady in the bedroom of the house, but I do know that Araiza had nothing to do with it,’ the lawyer continued.
Araiza’s college football coach football Brady Hoke said Monday he didn’t know that the star punter had been accused of participating in the gang rape until the civil lawsuit was filed.
Araiza waves to fans after a preseason NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Orchard Park, New York on August 13
Buffalo Bills punter Araiza told his 17-year-old rape accuser in a police-monitored phone call that she needed to be tested for chlamydia after an alleged hour-and-a-half-long attack that left her ‘bloody and crying,’ according to a court filing obtained by DailyMail.com
At the time of writing, Araiza has not been charged with a crime by the San Diego district attorney’s office.
There is a criminal investigation into the allegations, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the lawsuit. No arrests have been made and San Diego Police have not publicly identified any suspects.
Araiza would not be subject to the NFL personal conduct policy over the alleged rape because it took place in 2021, before he was a league player.
The lawsuit states that the teen had been drinking with friends when they decided to go to the party on October 17 and she was ‘observably intoxicated upon arrival.’ She became separated from her friends and was approached by Araiza who offered her a drink, according to the lawsuit.
She believes the drink ‘not only contained alcohol, but other intoxicating substances,’ the complaint said.
She told Araiza, who was 21 at the time, that she was a high school senior, according to the lawsuit. She alleges he then led her to a side yard where he asked her to perform oral sex and then had sex with her before taking her to a bedroom in the home.
There were at least three other men in the room, including Leonard and Ewaliko, according to the complaint. The lawsuit states that Araiza threw the teen onto the bed and she went in and out of consciousness while she was being raped. It added, ‘but she does remember some moments from the horrific gang rape.’
After an hour-and-a-half, the teen ‘stumbled out of the room bloody and crying,’ according to the complaint. Her nose, belly button, and ear piercings had been pulled out.
She immediately told her friends about the rape and the next day reported it to police and underwent a rape exam, according to the lawsuit. Officers coached her on calling Araiza, which she did 10 days later as detectives recorded it, according to the complaint.
During the call, Araiza acknowledged having sex with her, the lawsuit states, but later, when she asked him ‘And did we have actual sex?’ he responded ‘This is Matt Araiza. I don’t remember anything that happened that night’ and hung up.
But before getting off the phone, Araiza did tell Doe to get tested for chlamydia.
‘Parents of axed Buffalo Bills star Matt Araiza issue furious statement defending their son amid gang rape allegations by a 17-year-old, and reveal their entire family have been subjected to death threats: ‘The rule of law is innocent until proven guilty’
The parents of axed Buffalo Bills kicker Matt Araiza have issued a ferocious statement defending their son amid allegations he was involved in the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl last year.
The 22-year-old punter was released by the Super Bowl favorite Bills on Saturday, and his career is in tatters as he awaits more news on the civil lawsuit filed last Thursday.
Amid the backlash, Araiza’s parents have now released a statement of their own to the media, revealing death threats sent to their entire family, and reiterating that their son should be ‘innocent until proven guilty’.
As reported by KUSI-TV, the statement reads: ‘The rule of law is innocent until proven guilty. That is not our experience. There has been a war waged against our son.
‘He has been tried and convicted in the media based on information released solely from the alleged victim and her attorney, much of it through social media. People have taken his information as factual, when it is not.’
The lawsuit, filed in San Diego County Superior Court, accuses Araiza, Zavier Leonard (right) and Nowlin ‘Pa’a’ Ewaliko (left) of gang-raping a then-17-year-old girl at a Halloween party at a home where Araiza had been living
The message goes on to explain the ‘vitriol’ Araiza has received since the allegations were made public, and questions why the former Bills star is the ‘only one receiving this kind of treatment’, appearing to nod toward the two others also accused of gang rape.
‘He has been extorted, discriminated against, harassed and the subject of multiple and continuous threats of violence and death,’ the statement continues. ‘He has been released from his job and our entire family continues to receive horrific threats of violence and death. We have all been canceled. Every member of our family.’
The staunch defense of their son ends by speaking about ‘salacious rumors growing as fact’, before adding: ‘There are multiple witness reports to deny the claims that are made against him. The legal system is designed to find the facts and make decisions. They should be allowed to do that.’
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