Matt Araiza, the "Punt God" who led San Diego State to a record-setting season before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills, and two of his former Aztecs teammates were accused in a civil lawsuit Thursday of gang-raping a teenager at an off-campus party last fall.
The lawsuit, filed in San Diego County Superior Court, accuses Araiza, Zavier Leonard and Nowlin "Pa'a" Ewaliko of gang-raping a then-17-year-old girl at a Halloween party at a home where Araiza had been living.
The plaintiff, now 18, is identified in the complaint as "Jane Doe" because she was underage at the time.
The lawsuit states that the teen had been drinking with friends when they decided to go to the party on Oct. 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 face first as 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 confirmed having sex with her, the lawsuit states, but 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.