Bills punter accused of rape

[BUSTAMOVE]

The Bills have to punt on 3rd down on this one!
No punt intended

 

[Steve102]

What a mess.

 

[borg]

I wonder if Buffalo was even planning on dressing a punter for the NE games this coming year

 

[GreenCow]

Delete (duplicate of post below)

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

I read the Times article (which may or may not be the truth). She was 17, he was either 20 or 21, so most likely the statutory rape charge won't hold much water. What is really disturbing is that apparently, he had sex with her outside (an argument can be made that it was or was not (do to her intoxication), consensual and THEN took her inside of the house to a bedroom where 3-4 other men/players were and threw her face down on the bed. That is where the assault happened.

If any of that last part is remotely true, then the Bills are going to have to punt the Punt God!!!

 

[GreenCow]

if all she had was alcohol, that makes it rape based on the fact that an intoxicated person cannot consent to sex

You can have sex with a person who has ingested alcohol.

You can not have sex with a person who is drunk or so intoxicated that they can not consent or resist.

That's not my opinion or moral code - its what California law says.

 

[GreenCow]

he had sex with her outside (an argument can be made that it was or was not (do to her intoxication), consensual and THEN took her inside of the house to a bedroom where 3-4 other men/players were and threw her face down on the bed. That is where the assault happened.

If any of that is true, I don't want him on my team.

No room for rapists. Get out. Buh bye. Don't care if you have the greatest leg in history. Hit the streets and dont come back.

 

[GreenCow]

I was right.

It is rape. Statutory rape and if Araiza was 21 and the girl 17 Araiza is going away for felony rape.

That lawyer is wrong. Otherwise, he would have been arrested months ago.

What is the Age of Consent in California?

Newman & Allen explain the age of consent in California and what may happen if you are found guilty of a sex crime involving a minor.

www.newmanallen.com

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

You can have sex with a person who has ingested alcohol.

You can not have sex with a person who is drunk or so intoxicated that they can not consent or resist.

That's not my opinion - its California law.

If he had sex with her outside, and then they went to the party together, and she was telling others she was 18, how could she be "so intoxicated" at that point? Also Matt's lawyer said he was not involved when she went upstairs and they have an independent investigator who interviewed people at the party. So who knows. There is always two sides. Poor girl, amazing how these things keep happening. How many do we never hear of?

 

[denverpatsfan]

Seems like he would fit right into the Bills mafia thing. Wild partying. Drinking to excess. Maybe that's why he was drafted?
It's a shame about the accusations. Hope Justice is served.

 

[upstater1]

That’s a bit different than admitting to rape, though. I also read that she had been dosed with something when they did the rape kit and pulled her blood. That’s… pretty bad.

Problem is he admitted to statutory rape. And worse, he's above the 3 year difference in age so the penalty is maximized. He had an STD too

 

[Kontradiction]

Problem is he admitted to statutory rape. And worse, he's above the 3 year difference in age so the penalty is maximized. He had an STD too

Yeah, I didn’t think about that part when I made the post. Didn’t feel like editing it, though, so everyone can feel free to celebrate my idiocy.

 

[upstater1]

That lawyer is wrong. Otherwise, he would have been arrested months ago.

What is the Age of Consent in California?

Newman & Allen explain the age of consent in California and what may happen if you are found guilty of a sex crime involving a minor.

www.newmanallen.com

I think this is misquoted. There's more ambiguity:

"If the defendant is more than three years older than the victim, statutory rape may be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, which can result in:

• up to four years in state prison, and
• a fine of up to $25,000, depending on the difference in the relative ages,
• formal felony probation.

If you are 21 or older and the victim is under 16 years old, the penalties will increase to two, three, or four years in the state prison."

But-- all of this is moot. If you engage in sex with a minor under the influence of alcohol, it's statutory rape as a felony.

And had a rape kit done on the second day, which means there was very likely sperm still present; I'm sure they did a toxicology test on her too for date rape drugs.

 

[XLIX]

If he had sex with her outside, and then they went to the party together, and she was telling others she was 18, how could she be "so intoxicated" at that point? Also Matt's lawyer said he was not involved when she went upstairs and they have an independent investigator who interviewed people at the party. So who knows. There is always two sides. Poor girl, amazing how these things keep happening. How many do we never hear of?

He does not get exonerated if she told people she was 18.

It is impossible to know what is true but one report I read was that he had her perform oral sex on him when they were outside. This brings us into the very controversial space that legally, forced oral sex is not rape in many states. That was one of the (many) issues with the Stanford swimmer. It is still sexual assault, but not rape. (CA may very well have changed the law since that infamous Stanford swimmer case; I honestly don't know).

Obviously, if he was part of the group that assaulted her upstairs, that certainly counts as rape.

 

[Water Boy]

I have a strong inclination that BB was aware of this red flag.

 

[NashuaPats]

Has Cleveland traded for him yet?

 

[DaBruinz]

I'd put money that the Patriots found out about this and took Araiza off their draft board.

Bills punter Matt Araiza, San Diego State players accused of gang-raping teen

Bills breakout rookie punter Matt Araiza is reportedly being accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl last year while at San Diego State University.

nypost.com

"San Diego State has faced scrutiny after a recent Los Angeles Times report found the school did not properly alert the campus community of the allegations, instead waiting seven months.

Campus officials said that decision was due to San Diego police asking the school not to interfere with its investigation. The school agreed to comply with the criminal investigation and began its own investigative process in July."

Claims that five San Diego State football players raped a girl were followed by months of silence

San Diego State University held off investigating at the request of police, who say their inquiry into the alleged October incident involving a minor is ongoing.

www.latimes.com

"Claims were rapidly spreading among the school’s athletes that five players had raped an unconscious girl and left her bloodied and bruised at a house party off campus."

NFL punter Matt Araiza and two San Diego State football players accused in gang-rape lawsuit

A woman's lawsuit alleges that Matt Araiza, now with the Buffalo Bills, and two San Diego State football players raped her when she was 17.

www.latimes.com

 

[jah]

The Bills have chosen the "pretend there isn't even an accusation, let alone evidence" path. He'll be suiting up today, and quite possibly for years until his career is long enough that Wikipedia decides they can remove the blurb about this incident from his page.

 

[GreenCow]

If you are 21 or older and the victim is under 16 years old, the penalties will increase to two, three, or four years in the state prison."

But-- all of this is moot. If you engage in sex with a minor under the influence of alcohol, it's statutory rape as a felony.

I wont claim to know CA law well, because I don't.

But I would think that if this were the case (what you said above), he would have been arrested already, as no-one (including the punter) denies him having sexual conduct with her.

It would be an open and shut case if what you say is true, and the Bills would have cut him as he would be undoubtably been going to prison. So i'm not sure if what your said is accurate.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Looks like the NFL can't do anything about this because it happened in College. The Bills have known about this for a month now and still cut another punter to keep Araiza. We'll see if they end up releasing him now after this story has been picked up by the media.