Matt Araiza accused of rape, served with a lawsuit.

[Ray Berni]

A lot of things are being said, mostly without the benefit of evidence presented.

Being a retired Police Officer of over 35 years on the 7th largest PD in America.  Done thousands of investigations and I have a few questions.

1.  Why after almost a year why have no criminal charges been filed?

2.  Criminal charges always precede civil suits.  Criminal charges almost always add to the credibility of the civil suit. 
3.  Why did the Bills release Haack when they supposedly knew about the allegation on July 30th?

4.  If San Diego PD knew if the allegation and she had a Rape kit done why did they hold back?

Everyone has an opinion and it’s their right.

But as a Cop you have to look at evidence and ignore speculation and conjecture.

No one here wants to be found guilty without overwhelming evidence.  That’s just not right.

I’m going to wait until this all the facts are presented before I formulate an opinion.

I hope this young man did not do this as I have 3 daughters and 8 Grandkids of my own.

But if he did and it’s proven beyond the shadow of a doubt, then I don’t care who he is.  He has to pay the price.

 

[gobills404]

43 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Araiza’s lawyer went on local news and called the victim a liar. How else do you respond? Obviously this guy doesn’t care about how he’s perceived, he’s doing what he feels is best for his client. Right now the more attention and the more it’s talked about is definitely helping his client.

Literally every lawyer ever will say the claims against there client are false. Did you want him to say “yeah there’s definitely some merit behind the accusation”? 

[dje85]

11 minutes ago, sven233 said:

I mentioned this last night, but admitted that maybe I just hadn't see everything out there yet.  However, it's the next day and not a whole lot new has been reported.  Can someone let me know why there seems to be 100% focus on Ariaza and none on the other players involved?  It just seems like the lawyer is throwing anything and everything at 1 guy while the others are hardly mentioned to this point.  Just odd, that's all.

Araiza is a professional sports player who was just signed to a pro sports contract. That means he can pay. The other two are no names who likely will no longer be playing college sports regardless as one was a redshirt and the other already wasn't returning prior to this civil suit.  The lawyer doesn't care about the non famous guys who can't pay up in a civil suit. Why would he? Civil suits won't lead to prosecution. The suit is just about getting paid.

 

The others will likely get a lot more attention come the prosecution if it ever occurs. 

[The Red King]

Just now, BarleyNY said:

FFS. That’s ridiculous. 

 

So, to be clear, you are saying that there is no possibility, at all, that this could have happened?  Based on?  The same things that lead you to be 100% convinced he did it at so early a stage, right?  I get it, you somehow know for certain.  Don't assume people who are waiting for the facts to come out are somehow convinced 100% the opposite way.  It *is* possible for people to wait before passing judgement either way, you know.

[Royale with Cheese]

Wouldn't it be awesome if everyone here in this thread was in the same room?  Even better if a lot of alcohol was involved?

[Warcodered]

1 minute ago, SectionC3 said:

Yup.  And this is my profession.  What’s yours?

If you're keeping your clients identity anonymous you should probably redact her friends name if you're competent.

[sven233]

3 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

thats my thoughts as well...put him on the commissioners reserve list till this plays out...why is that so hard?

 

If I had to guess, I don't think he will end up playing tonight.  But, if he does, it is probably because the team has known this was going to come out for a month or more at this point, have a lot more information than the public does about it, have not seen any additional information about it the last day or so that they didn't already have weeks ago, and are completely comfortable as to where this actually sits behind the scenes. 

 

Honestly, if he plays tonight, it will be really telling where the Bills organization is on all the evidence they have at this point.  I don't expect him to play, but am definitely interested to see what the Bills do as I expect a lot more punting opportunities tonight than there has been in the first couple preseason games.

[gobills404]

1 minute ago, SectionC3 said:

Yup.  And this is my profession.  What’s yours?

Having no knowledge of professional etiquette is your profession? How are the benefits?

[Rc2catch]

Just now, Royale with Cheese said:

Wouldn't it be awesome if everyone here in this thread was in the same room?  Even better if a lot of alcohol was involved?

Lol no.. I would get punched in the face for rolling my eyes I’m guessing based off my inbox 😜

[Alphadawg7]

9 minutes ago, Dr.Mantis_Toboggan said:

No it’s stances like yours that lead to victim shaming/blaming. You’re completely out of pocket here.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/10/06/less-than-percent-rapes-lead-felony-convictions-least-percent-victims-face-emotional-physical-consequences/
 

LESS THAN ONE PERCENT get convicted…

 

Yet I did not once victim shame...there you go...those pesky facts again screwing your rant.  

 

And your link you keep posting, while factual, true, and sad, is not relevant to what people are saying.  So once again, please post your interviews of the witnesses, the facts you found in your investigation, and the timeline of the night corroborated by those findings to show:

1. Matt was even at the house when the rape occurred.  You know, to be convicted of rape you need to present and have some participation in the actual rape.  
   1. There are a lot of eyewitness testimonies, allegedly including her own friend at the party with her, that say Matt was not even at the house when the attack and rape happened.  
2. That Matt was present in the room or had any connection to the assault.
   1. Her own journal written the day after and continued in the days following, released by her own attorney, literally names no one, gives no indication of who was in the room and repeated says she has no idea who was in there.  

Until you can at least prove those 2 things, your 1% conviction article is 100% irrelevant.  You DO NOT KNOW if Matt was actually involved in the rape.  This is not a situation where its clear who the assaulter was, an assault happened, and now you have to prove it in a court of law.  There is a massive difference between what we know now and the 1% conviction rate you are rearing too where the assault is valid and the assaulter is known but in a court of law its not what you know, its what you can prove.  

 

Here, you dont KNOW yet he was even involved in an assault.  All we know is PRIOR to the assault there appears to be a then consensual encounter in a different location, but that does not automatically mean he was also part of the later tragic assault on her by a group of horrible guys.  

 

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by Alphadawg7

[Yobogoya!]

6 minutes ago, appoo said:

Our Justice system is not built for sexual crimes - mostly because when the system was set up there was no such things as sexual crimes.

 

To simply say “innocent until proven guilty” in this specific situation is also to agree that “accuser is lying until proven to be honest”, and that’s a BS stance. 
 

We have more reason to believe the accuser than we do the accused in this case, based on what we know. That should be enough. 
 

 But regardless, in cases involving sexual crimes, one can not hide behind “Innocent until proven guilty”

 

Actually the physical evidence we've seen so far (victim's diary) shows exactly the opposite -- that we don't have any reason to believe the accuser named Araiza or any of the other men as the perpetrators of the assault. 

 

If the criminal investigation led to them, it almost certainly did so on the accounts of other witnesses at the party. And so far, I don't believe we've seen any direct and verified statements from those people published. 

[Pokebball]

20 minutes ago, BillsfaninSB said:

Civil suit was filed yesterday.

 

Post intercourse, Plaintiff claims Arazia took her to a bedroom occupied by the former teammates and threw her face down on to the bed.  Have not heard whether or not someone is claiming this is not true.  It sounds like what happened next with respect to Arazia is unclear.  Was he in the room, did he watch and do nothing, did he participate or did he walk away?

Arazia's attorney is disputing this. Some claim that this was Arazia's house...it wasn't. His attorney says Arazia didn't bring her to the bedroom and claims Arazia wasn't even in this house this particular night. He claims to have seen witness testimony to support Arazia's claim. But who the heck knows?

[Bruffalo]

I'm all for cutting him.  It's probably the right thing to do considering the circumstances. 

 

I feel like there should be some kind of "administrative leave" for players going through ***** like this.  Suspend pay, no playing, roster spot doesn't count until investigation is complete. 

[YoloinOhio]

9 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

thats my thoughts as well...put him on the commissioners reserve list till this plays out...why is that so hard?

That is an nfl league list, not a team list. He’s not subject to this list as the  civil allegations occurred prior to him being in the nfl. 
 

The Exempt List is a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances," NFL.com points out, citing the league's manual. "The List includes those players who have been declared by the Commissioner to be temporarily exempt from counting within the Active List limit. Only the Commissioner has the authority to place a player on the Exempt List; clubs have no such authority, and no exemption, regardless of circumstances, is automatic. 
https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/just-what-nfl-commissioners-exempt-list

 

[mannc]

21 minutes ago, BillsfaninSB said:

Civil suit was filed yesterday.

 

Post intercourse, Plaintiff claims Arazia took her to a bedroom occupied by the former teammates and threw her face down on to the bed.  Have not heard whether or not someone is claiming this is not true.  It sounds like what happened next with respect to Arazia is unclear.  Was he in the room, did he watch and do nothing, did he participate or did he walk away?

You are reciting allegations in the plaintiff's complaint as if they are established facts because no one has expressly rebutted them in the 24 hours since the lawsuit was filed.  That's just not the way it works.  It's unfortunate that Araiza doesn't have more capable counsel, but you would do well not to take Mr. Gilleon's assertions (any of them) as facts.  

[pocoboy]

Man, why couldn't we have just kept Bojorquez?

[ColoradoBills]

Just now, plenzmd1 said:

so if he was accused of this while on a roster, he could go on the reserve list? Did not now that. I understand they cannot punish him as it was before his time in the NFL, was not aware of the inability to reserve list him

 

I only became aware of it today in this thread.  It seems to be accurate.  I don't understand the reasoning for it as none was given.

It would be a good question for Beane/McDermott to be asked.

[GoBills808]

9 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

 Are you aware that Matt, an alleged gang raper, reached out to her about getting tested for an STD? 

My understanding is that this conversation occurred during a pretext call made by the girl and detectives as part of the investigation.

[Dr.Mantis_Toboggan]

Just now, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Yet I did not once victim shame...there you go...those pesky facts again screwing your rant.  

 

And your stupid story you keep posting, while factual, true, and sad, is not relevant to what people are saying.  So once again, please post your interviews of the witnesses, the facts you found in your investigation, and the timeline of the night corroborated by those findings to show:

1. Matt was even at the house when the rape occurred.  You know, to be convicted of rape you need to present and have some participation in the actual rape.  
   1. There are a lot of eyewitness testimonies, allegedly including her own friend at the party with her, that say Matt was not even at the house when the attack and rape happened.  
2. That Matt was present in the room or had any connection to the assault.
   1. Her own journal written the day after and continued in the days following, released by her own attorney, literally names no one, gives no indication of who was in the room and repeated says she has no idea who was in there.  

Until you can at least prove those 2 things, your 1% conviction article is 100% irrelevant.  You DO NOT KNOW if Matt was actually involved in the rape.  This is not a situation where its clear who the assaulter was, an assault happened, and now you have to prove it in a court of law.  There is a massive difference between what we know now and the 1% conviction rate you are rearing too where the assault is valid and the assaulter is known but in a court of law its not what you know, its what you can prove.  

 

Here, you dont KNOW yet he was even involved in an assault.  All we know is PRIOR to the assault there appears to be a then consensual encounter in a different location, but that does not automatically mean he was also part of the later tragic assault on her by a group of horrible guys.  

 

 

Just because you post some diatribe of long winded nonsense doesn’t make you any more right… the way you’re going to bat for this dude is just weird. 

And these stats are 100% relevant

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/10/06/less-than-percent-rapes-lead-felony-convictions-least-percent-victims-face-emotional-physical-consequences/

 

Because? Everybody keeps saying why didn’t they file a criminal case? Why file a case that’s 99% likely to end in favor of the defendant? More of those mental gymnastics you like so much.

[Buffalo716]

14 minutes ago, Dr.Mantis_Toboggan said:

No it’s stances like yours that lead to victim shaming/blaming. You’re completely out of pocket here.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/10/06/less-than-percent-rapes-lead-felony-convictions-least-percent-victims-face-emotional-physical-consequences/
 

LESS THAN ONE PERCENT get convicted…

Even that article says their numbers are approximations and not scientific facts though… Based on using different methodologies… I understand the point Completely 

 

https://cmsac.org/facts-and-statistics/
 

This article says 58% Of people that get prosecuted for rape are convicted

Edited August 26, 2022 by Buffalo716

[mannc]

3 minutes ago, Yobogoya! said:

 

Actually the physical evidence we've seen so far (victim's diary) shows exactly the opposite -- that we don't have any reason to believe the accuser named Araiza or any of the other men as the perpetrators of the assault. 

 

 

What does the victim's diary say?  (I'm trying to keep up, but this pesky job keeps getting in the way...)

[plenzmd1]

2 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

That is an nfl league list, not a team list. He’s not subject to this list as the  civil allegations occurred prior to him being in the nfl. 
 

The Exempt List is a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances," NFL.com points out, citing the league's manual. "The List includes those players who have been declared by the Commissioner to be temporarily exempt from counting within the Active List limit. Only the Commissioner has the authority to place a player on the Exempt List; clubs have no such authority, and no exemption, regardless of circumstances, is automatic. 
https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/just-what-nfl-commissioners-exempt-list

 

okay...i am still confused..can the commish put him on this list? So the Bills only option is to cut him or keep him? I guess thay could keep him inactive, but i cant see them keeping two punyters

[BillsfaninSB]

1 minute ago, mannc said:

You are reciting allegations in the plaintiff's complaint as if they are established facts because no one has expressly rebutted them in the 24 hours since the lawsuit was filed.  That's just not the way it works.  It's unfortunate that Araiza doesn't have more capable counsel, but you would do well not to take Mr. Gilleon's assertions (any of them) as facts.  

Not saying any of this is factual.  Just stating what was in the lawsuit. 

[dollars 2 donuts]

6 minutes ago, BIGFOOTspaceman said:

This right here.... This has got to be weighing on Beane and the Pegula's

 

 

Yeah, unrelated per se, but  I am going to be that guy...I am sure it is weighing on Beane and Terry Pegula, and I can assume maybe Kim, too, as we all can imagine what a valuable voice she would have added to this in the preceding month and things may have been different, as he may have already been cut or cut in the midst of training camp.

 

But we don't know because we continue to pay no heed to the fact that it has now been 10 + weeks and we have not seen even a photo or heard a word from the President of the team.  

 

All...ALL PRAYERS TO HER, but at some point the team has to address what is going on with the President of the organization.

 

The family...doesn't.

 

...but the team does. 

[BarleyNY]

Just now, The Red King said:

 

So, to be clear, you are saying that there is no possibility, at all, that this could have happened?  Based on?  The same things that lead you to be 100% convinced he did it at so early a stage, right?  I get it, you somehow know for certain.  Don't assume people who are waiting for the facts to come out are somehow convinced 100% the opposite way.  It *is* possible for people to wait before passing judgement either way, you know.

Just to be clear, it’s not plausible. Araiza wasn’t in a position to be shaken down for money when the girl accused him. He was a college punter. His best option months down the road was being a late round NFL draft pick - which doesn’t even come with that huge of a payday.  But her accusation could have prevented even that. It’s not like he was some sure fire first round QB like an Andrew Luck. He was a college punter when accused.  So, no, it’s not plausible. You’d have to throw logic out the window to think it was. 

[CNYfan]

Some animals belong in cages.  

Just a random thought

[iccrewman112]

4 minutes ago, pocoboy said:

Man, why couldn't we have just kept Bojorquez?

we can have him back at any time.

[YoloinOhio]

1 minute ago, plenzmd1 said:

okay...i am still confused..can the commish put him on this list? So the Bills only option is to cut him or keep him? I guess thay could keep him inactive, but i cant see them keeping two punyters

They can make him inactive or cut him but there isn’t a “list” he can go on 

[BullBuchanan]

13 minutes ago, gobills404 said:

So you think posting peoples email addresses, phone numbers, personal diary entries, as well as following and interacting with pornstars is acceptable/professional behavior? Lmao

What exactly is wrong with that? Unrelated - Did you know he represents women in sexual assault cases including the adult entertainment industry?
 

Edited August 26, 2022 by BullBuchanan

[mannc]

2 minutes ago, BillsfaninSB said:

Not saying any of this is factual.  Just stating what was in the lawsuit. 

Ok.  It sounded like you were accepting the plaintiff's story just because it had not been expressly rebutted (yet) by Araiza...

[AuntieEm]

44 minutes ago, Dr.Mantis_Toboggan said:

Because it’s extremely underreported, and rarely false accusations.  Sounds to me like the girl just went with the wrong lawyer.  She did however go to the police which would be pretty brazen for a young girl to do if she’s fabricating everything. When it comes to SA it’s probably best I’m not on any jury, I’ll agree with you on that one. 
 

But the fact remains that instances where sexual assault takes places but allegations aren’t brought forward at all occurs at a far higher rate than false accusations are ever being made.  Never mind that barely anybody is ever found guilty of rape even in the rare instances that they do face charges.

 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/10/06/less-than-percent-rapes-lead-felony-convictions-least-percent-victims-face-emotional-physical-consequences/

 

https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics

 

  Yes rapes are under reported and one big reason is the victim and accused of trying to ruin a innocent man life for whatever reasoning they can make look plausible.  Doesn't give accusers a free ride and we believe them on their words alone. 

 

  Social media can help change the stigma but they also should stay out of making any judgements. 

Edited August 26, 2022 by AuntieEm

[Alphadawg7]

7 minutes ago, Dr.Mantis_Toboggan said:

Just because you post some diatribe of long winded nonsense doesn’t make you any more right… the way you’re going to bat for this dude is just weird. 

And these stats are 100% relevant

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/10/06/less-than-percent-rapes-lead-felony-convictions-least-percent-victims-face-emotional-physical-consequences/

 

Because? Everybody keeps saying why didn’t they file a criminal case? Why file a case that’s 99% likely to end in favor of the defendant? More of those mental gymnastics you like so much.

 

I am not going to bat for anyone, you cant be this bad at reading.  I am stating there is LEGITIMATE questions if he was EVEN IN THE HOUSE at the time of the attack.  I am only stating let the investigation run its course and the findings shared before you decided he is a rapist with a 1% chance of conviction.  

[BillsFanForever19]

10 minutes ago, sven233 said:

 

If I had to guess, I don't think he will end up playing tonight.  But, if he does, it is probably because the team has known this was going to come out for a month or more at this point, have a lot more information than the public does about it, have not seen any additional information about it the last day or so that they didn't already have weeks ago, and are completely comfortable as to where this actually sits behind the scenes. 

 

Honestly, if he plays tonight, it will be really telling where the Bills organization is on all the evidence they have at this point.  I don't expect him to play, but am definitely interested to see what the Bills do as I expect a lot more punting opportunities tonight than there has been in the first couple preseason games.

 

We're 3 and a half hours from Kickoff and Matt Araiza is the only Punter on this team. They haven't made any announcement regarding us signing another Punter. At this point, it's definitely looking like he's playing.

[BillsfaninSB]

2 minutes ago, mannc said:

Ok.  It sounded like you were accepting the plaintiff's story just because it had not been expressly rebutted (yet) by Araiza...

The OP seemed to be questioning why Arazia was brought into the civil suit.  I was just stating the plaintiffs claim of how Arazia was connected, allegedly. 

[Albany,n.y.]

5 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

They can make him inactive or cut him but there isn’t a “list” he can go on 

There's a list called the Sexual Offender Registry, which if he's guilty & convicted he'll go on.  

[K-9]

6 minutes ago, iccrewman112 said:

we can have him back at any time.

He’s the punter for the Browns, so I’m thinking they might not agree. 

[BillsShredder83]

2 hours ago, Mango said:

 

OK. Lets go down that path. Nobody was in the room. 

Why would he bring her up to an empty room and lay her in a bed alone and then leave to go about his night? 
 

Do we know what time it was? She snuck out telling her parents she was doing x and instead did y. Needed a place to stay the night

 

Doesn't mean she told him I lied to my parents, not to mention even if she did plenty of college kids live at home and an 18yr old college kid might not tell their parent they're going to a party with drinking.

 

Not saying this necessarily happened, we dunno, but pretending there's no possible explanation to him giving her a room to sleep in, other than setting her up for a gang rape is naive at best. 

[JaCrispy]

They need to cut him so it doesn’t become a dark stain on a championship season- no team photo please…

[Beach]

hope half of you arent my jury if im accused of anything

[Yobogoya!]

8 minutes ago, mannc said:

What does the victim's diary say?  (I'm trying to keep up, but this pesky job keeps getting in the way...)

 

What you'd expect -- she couldn't remember much about who or how many attacked her. It was tough to read, I definitely wouldn't doubt that she was assaulted that night but in this case due to the alcohol and/or any drugs involved its highly unlikely the accuser will be able to give solid testimony about who attacked her. If Araiza was indeed the man she had sex with before the gang rape, she also couldn't recall anything other than his skin and hair color -- so she didn't know his name. 

 

That's why I said if the criminal investigation led back to the three named in the civil suit, it would have to have been because other people verified their identities. There's no way the victim named them.