"A part of me can't help but feel guilty and wonder if I could have prevented it" - Matt Araiza's accuser shares her heartbreaking story after being allegedly raped by Bills punter
The accuser in the case involving Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza shared a saddening story of the night she claimed was raped by the punter and others. In a journal entry dated Oct. 18, 2021, she details how she went to the police after being gang raped the previous day. When the entry was released by her attorney, Dan Gilleon, the accuser said she felt guilty and wondered if what happened to her could have been prevented:
“I feel like I should be documenting how I feel just to get through it but I don’t even know how to feel,” “A part of me can’t help but feel guilty and wonder if I could have prevented it.”
The female was 17 years old and a high school senior when she said that she was raped multiple times at the residence of the punter. Gilleon took to Twitter to post pictures of the handwritten journal entries while going after the San Diego police for not asking to see them as part of their investigation. In a tweet, Gilleon said:
“The super-sleuths there didn’t bother to ask if my client kept a journal. She did, starting Day One. It’s heartbreaking.”
This journal written by my client a day after the @matt_araiza assault is powerful but heartbreaking. https://t.co/oJF2JeGGrh
A spokeswoman for the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, Tanya Sierra, confirmed that the office was, at the time, looking over the investigation. They were looking into the alleged rape that was given to them by the San Diego Police Department. Sierra also noted:
"There is no timeline for how long it will take.”
Journal accounts by the accuser did not specifically name Araiza or the two other San Diego State football players accused in the lawsuit. Zavier Leonard and Nowlin Ewaliko are the two other players in question.
Did the Bills know of the allegations against Araiza?
Buffalo have not explicitly revealed whether they had knowledge regarding the allegations prior to drafting him in this year’s NFL Draft. Also, the criminal investigation certainly started earlier than when the punter was selected.
The team released a statement, saying they were aware of a complaint involving Araiza from October of last year:
“We were recently made aware of a civil complaint involving Matt from October 2021.” “Due to the serious nature of the complaint, we conducted a thorough examination of this matter. As this is an ongoing civil case legal, we will have no other comment at this point.”
Statement from #Bills re: rape allegations against P Matt Araiza in civil lawsuit. @wgrz
“We were recently made aware of a civil complaint involving Matt from October 2021.
Due to the serious nature of the complaint, we conducted a thorough examination of this matter. 1/2
The team was recently made aware of the civil complaint against Araiza after it was filed not too long ago. The instance that they “conducted a thorough examination of this matter” isn’t connected to a certain timeline. This could refer to the span of time prior to when the case was filed or maybe before Araiza was drafted.
Either way, the Bills cut their punter from last season in Matt Haack, meaning Araiza won the starting job. We’ll see how this case turns out as it seems to be long from over.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit The Buffalo News, Mike Florio, and H/T Sportskeeda.