Rape charges dropped against Araiza and other SDSU players
 

Former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza and former teammates on the San Diego State football team will not face criminal charges in connection with an alleged gang rape of a minor that occurred at an off-campus party in October 2021, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

"Ultimately, prosecutors determined it is clear the evidence does not support the filing of criminal charges and there is no path to a potential criminal conviction," the district attorney's office said in a statement. "Prosecutors can only file charges when they ethically believe they can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

The DA's office said the San Diego Police Department did not recommend charges be filed when the case was submitted in early August.

flooding the cave

Did they lie?

Thats a pretty heinous accusation to make.

It's going to follow the guy forever, no matter what happened.

As long as this hurt the bills I’m fine with this guy’s career and life being ruined

I hope the Bills lose a playoff game because of a shitty punt.

That doesn't mean it didn't happen. Doesn't mean it was a prosecution botch either.

Hard to say without the hard facts.

Believe all women cost another man his career.

Innocent until proven guilty is a better system than social media mob rule.

Unfortunately, the fact that they're not pressing the charges doesn't mean the guy is innocent. I'm not saying he's guilty. We just don't know that he's innocent.

What kind of fence riding shit is this?

Evidence does not support the story that was given. Ergo, he is innocent of the accusations in the story until proven guilty.

Since there were no charges, based on no evidence, I'd say that leans toward **** off I didn't do this thing I'm being accused of.

But like I said, no matter what actually happened, he's guilty already with certain people.

Your post is proof of concept.

Depends on how you view it. If you believe in our system of justice, that's exactly what it means.

Yes, but it doesn't discount that the San Diego PD completely fumbled the **** out of the investigation.

Ultimately both sides are burned in the end. Matt could be 100% innocent and they possibly ****ed it by failing at their jobs. She could have been right and won't get her moment because they ****ed up.

We'll never know.

They should have done right by her by following proper procedure and to him by coming to a conclusion before he entered the NFL. They possibly robbed him of a career by being ****ing incompetent.

I can’t even……

Where do you stand on people who have been charged, but not convicted, of crimes?

There are two kinds of innocent. When they say you're innocent until proven guilty, it means that you're innocent in the eyes of the law. That doesn't necessarily mean you didn't actually do it though.

When they said they didn't have enough to prosecute, it doesn't necessarily mean that there is no evidence. To convict someone of a crime, you're supposed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. You can have lots of evidence of guilt and still fall short of that standard. It's entirely possible that the prosecution believed they didn't have enough evidence to convict at this time. Dropping the charges allows them to refile the charges at a later date if more evidence comes to light. Prosecuting the guy and getting a not guilty verdict permanently enjoins the government from ever prosecuting the guy for that crime ever again.

If he played an important position he'd get another shot. Since he's a punter yeah he's probably done.

If Deshaun Watson was a punter, he be out of the league too.

.. believe it?

.. complete a sentence?



What is it exactly that you can't even?

Innocent until proven guilty.

I wait until the conviction. Pretty obvious to figure out.

Where do you stand on people being convicted, and later exonerated, of crimes?

Picture it: March 13, 2006. The place? Near the Trinity Heights neighborhood of Durham, North Carolina..

Y’all a bunch of impotent, rape apologists incels.

Beyond a reasonable doubt is generally considered to be 90-95% certain. The fact the prosecutors refused to charge is far from a pronouncement of innocence.

…take a real woman to Belize?

Responded in the quoted section.

Or "star athlete with money makes another rape go away". :shrug:

It's pretty naive to think this news means nothing happened.

He'll probably get signed somewhere anyway and can maybe take this as a hint that it's quite the privilege to play a sport for large sums of money... or else, *gasp*, he can find a real job.

(and I hate social media pressure leading to people immediately being fired before anything is figured out, but generally where there's smoke, there's fire)

Is this a Big Ben payoff situation?

Yeah, this does nothing but make the police that handled the initial accusations look like even bigger dipshits. Araiza outright admitted to having sex with her already when she was under the age of consent. He then realized what a colossal ****up that was and tried to walk it back but, well, probably a bit too late for that.

You are just so incredibly stupid.

I understand your point about using the standard of innocent until proven guilty. That standard exists for the government though, and prevents them from taking away anyone's life, liberty, or property without due process of law. However, you and I are free to form our own opinions. For example, I believe that OJ Simpson was guilty of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. I believe a majority of the people would agree with me on that. However, the jury found him not guilty. Therefore the government cannot punish OJ for that crime, but you and I are perfectly free to believe whatever we want about his "innocence."

so the fact that the prosecutors refused to charge is a pronouncement of being guilty?

The guy said people should be innocent until proven guilty and you're all like "oh ur a rape apologist and ur involuntary celibate!"

It's more of an involuntary celibate move to take a photo of a stripper from the outhouse and then claim to go to belize with her

Seems like a pretty open and shut case for statutory considering he admitted to it.

And the fact she was recorded lying about her age which never is considered a valid defense against statutory rape to boot.

And I definitely see your perspective as well and I don't necessarily disagree with you. The example you gave is a good one. Also, I certainly am not rallying "for" Araiza in this particular case. I have not taken a dive into the details available or researched this case in the way it seems some here have. Araiza may be a huge POS, I don't know. If he did commit this crime, I hope more evidence does present itself and he can go rot in a cage for a few decades.

Agreed.

I haven't followed this case at all, I have to admit. So basically the general consensus seems to be that despite the charges being dropped, he's definitely guilty anyways.

On the other end of the spectrum, we do also have many people who will plead guilty while being innocent, mainly for reasons not being able to afford a proper defense and pleading guilty means a lesser penalty.

I think it's too late for him to be charged since technically that can be a misdemeanor or felony. Hence, the initial investigation being a farce to cover for the football team and why she went the civil route.

LMAO Deadass thought this was a parody. No, they actually are in the video. Yeah, pretty obvious she's blitzed. Also lying about her age.

How one believes a chick with braces is 18 without bothering to check an ID is beyond me.

Then again, I was never a D1 athlete.

I can't imagine getting your ass eaten out by someone with braces would be all that pleasant.

punt god to cleveland to team up with Desean "Massages" Watson

OBJ lied about his age last Sunday

As absolutely ridiculous as it may seem, I know a woman that got braces at age 56. No joke. It was my former boss' wife.

I can't say I wouldn't have agreed with you before but having seen her get them at that age, I'd have to say it's entirely within the realm of possibility for an 18/19-year-old to do the same.

As for the OP... my hero rides again! ROFL

Tom Brady is a pedophile

Damn, I thought you were going to talk about Dolphin rape again.

https://i2.wp.com/www.society19.com/...85%2C329&ssl=1

We are increasingly living in a society where any accusation will ruin anyone's career. Now sometimes where there is smoke where there is fire but I dont think employers should be able to fire somebody just because they are charged. They SHOULD have to be convicted or take a plea before they are allowed to take action. I realize thst is not the world we live in but this is the entire reason we have a justice system.

Also contrary to popular belief the age of consent in almost every state is not 18. In this case the accuser was 17. 21 vs 17 is rarely a statutory case in most states, which should make sense to anyone who was that age before.

Is it safe to assume that you're not an employer?

1 1/2 hours… black & blue bruises around and on the throat area.

“…The lawsuit states that Araiza, who was 21 at the time, then took her inside the home, where at least three other men, including the other two defendants named in the suit -- Araiza's then-Aztecs teammates Zavier Leonard and Nowlin Ewaliko -- were located, and that she was repeatedly raped for about 1½ hours. An initial crime report obtained by ESPN said the girl sustained "severe black and blue bruising to her neck and throat region," in addition to a half-inch laceration to her upper forehead. She had bruising on her right leg and noted "vaginal pain and bleeding from the incident."


http://https://www.espn.com/college-...gang-rape-case

Some of you guys.... LOL.

So if he's found guilty in the civil case that's going to follow, only then can we believe that perhaps he had done something?

I really bet none of you make judgments in your life in any capacity without the full weight of the justice system to guide you.

Can he kick field goals? Bring him in for a look?

Ok, then consider that he had sex with a minor. Did so knowing he had STDs. And by all indications had rough enough sex that she was bruised up. You don’t have to have a guilty charge to raise red flags as an employer.

Innocent until proven guilty. Too many times we've been told ABC and then when the facts actually come out it is XYZ. This used to be a ground rock principle in this country, and is a constitutional right. Mob justice is not justice.

This case sucks because of a bungling SDPD we won't ever really know the truth.

I lean towards something probably happened, but we really don't know.

Part of a story isn't the whole story. Assumptions are just that.

I hope the girl wins the civil case if the evidence backs it up. Rapists, especially gang rapists, have a special place in hell.

In this case we know what happened. The courts just didn’t know if it qualifies as rape. They have a recorded phone call, documentation of her bruises and a rape kit. I don’t know if this means he should be permanently canceled but there seems to be plenty of evidence to show what happened. It’s more the illegal intent that’s unproven.

It is possible to sit back and not take a stance.

Brian Banks, Duke LaCrosse, etc.

I personally had friends in college that ****ed around with some girls that were underaged. The thing is, they looked like college girls, acted like college girls. Hell, I would have nailed one of them if so inclined.

They got in trouble for sneaking out one night by their parents, and guess who got blamed for ALL of their problems, stuff that had nothing to do with them. Said that my friends got them drunk and took advantage of them. Thing is they came by in the middle of the day to screw all the time. During school. All bullshit.

Ruined one guys life and the other was smart and denied everything.

This is America, Jack. Not Belize.

The problem is that rape is one of the hardest things to prove without a doubt in the eyes of the law. Even if the victim does everything right the attacker can go free due to "lack of evidence"

The truth is all of us know someone that has been raped or sexually assaulted and nothing ever happened to the attacker. I think that's why the mob mentality is so strong with things like this. Because we all know or are someone who has been in a similar situation.

Innocent until proven guilty is one of the main concepts this country was founded on. You shouldn't give an inch on this concept, not an inch.

I guess just keep your fingers crossed that nobody makes an accusation against you of this caliber.

In the meantime, judge away, your honor.

Well, most people don't get trashed at parties and proceed to have "consensual" sex with another trashed person, and are decent enough people overall to never have to worry about such a thing happening.

And I don't like the social media pressure mob mentality of consequences now and figure it out later, but also putting this in such a way where just anyone can be accused of rape is also ridiculous.

(also not saying it was definitely rape or whatever, but acting like it's black and white is dumb)

1:50 and 2:48

Good watch for idiots like DJ, Belizeboy, and the honorable judge twistedchief.

This is really the crux of the issue. It's difficult to prove either way so it's exceptionally touchy. Rapey dudes are shitty and lying whores are equally as shitty. Without either, we'd have no issues, but unfortunately there are enough on both sides that you'll always have to wonder either way when an accusation is made.

This really doesn't prove much for me other than she was dtf. Doesn't mean she was down for it to be so rough she had a bloody lip and bruises. Maybe I'm crazy but I'm of the belief that once a girl says no or stop then you stop. Alot of people have different kinks and I have no issues with people enjoying them but consent is a huge part. And the more extreme your kink the more certain you have to be about consent.

I'm not saying he is guilty or innocent. Just that there is alot of gray area to this.

Well said.

Yeah but what makes everyone comfortable are the other details. You gotta also get past the gang bang part or that she consented to be treating that roughly. Maybe it was consensual but it’s not just an ordinary encounter. The thing I can’t get over is that he told her he had an STD AFTER they banged. So all in all, it’s not like the guy is a total victim.

"Ultimately, prosecutors determined it is clear the evidence does not support the filing of criminal charges and there is no path to a potential criminal conviction," the district attorney's office said in a statement. "Prosecutors can only file charges when they ethically believe they can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

the bold part translates to there is no evidence that the story was true. If they said they didn't feel they had enough evidence to secure a conviction then that is totally different.

the "does not support" part is saying "yea this doesn't add up". if it was "evidence is not strong enough" then that is yea it very likely could have happened, but no way we win a conviction so not going forward.

Prosecutors aren't gonna take on a losing case in general. In cases like these there tend to be a lot of reliance on witnesses and who knows with that. People tend to inject their beliefs/feelings into these things or they just flat out refuse to cooperate and with alcohol and what not involved could have just not been anything substantial enough.

You have to be careful especially if people know who you are, Trevor Bauer basically got setup and suspended when in all reality by the law he didn't do anything wrong.

Weird. I feel like you entirely ignored this part:

"Prosecutors can only file charges when they ethically believe they can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."


The entire thing reads to me that they just don't have enough evidence to file, not that there's no evidence the story was true.

The burden of proof is always going to be super high in these sorts of situations especially when they involve alcohol. And as you said a lot of DAs wouldn't want to go down that path.

But I don't think they're saying there's no evidence to support her claims in the slightest.

The STD thing is terrible, but it happens all the time at colleges across the US.


I'm thankful I dodged that bullet in my younger years.

Isn't he well known for being a huge piece of shit?

Not necessarily saying any of it was proportional response or whatever, but I do find not being a huge piece of shit goes a long way towards people not being a huge piece of shit in return.

I addressed that part in the second part of my post. I also mentioned it is entirely possible that they had crap witnesses and they just can't get the story to add up. Also perhaps they just didn't choose their words carefully, but to me it would have made more sense to just say "we don't have ENOUGH evidence to gain a conviction". Instead they elected to say that "the evidence doesn't SUPPORT the charges filed".

Idk to me that reads different no?

I know if I was the victim or family i would be pissed if they used the words they did. It insinuates that it was made up.

agree on everything else.

Oh shit i was there that day. Kinda. I was at the park for my nephew's birthday, i remember watching them all load up on to the yacht and wondered what it was for.

I remember laughing because a few of those ho's missed the boat, haha.

The hope is that every young girl understands the real-life lessons here. Don't be a cock-tease. Don't get drunk and hang out at frat houses, etc.

As part of my business law class in college we were required to sit in on a case to just kind of learn how the procedings went. In this instance it was a sexual assault case. Granted I was only present for half of the case but I was thinking this guy is totally going to get acquitted. It seemed like it was a word vs word type deal but there were witnesses collaborating that it was consensual...some of which were even friends of the accuser.

I saw in the paper a week later that he was convicted. I was surprised. Look, he probably did it. What do we know we werent there but its also possible she got pissed because he did admit that she wouldn't leave quickly in the morning and she got upset when he wouldn't drive her home. He told her to take the bus and was just kind of smug about banging her in front of friends. Its also possible thats all it took for her to accuse. We are so quick to judge the bad accusation, and not give the person a right to defend theirselves.

In this specific case, it's entirely possible they did a 3way and she felt bad about it after. Felt used. Dejected when they didnt want to talk with her after that. Combine with the fact that it was known he was going to be an NFL player. It's certainly POSSIBLE it was fabricated.

You can't say that. It's called victim blaming.

Lol, call it whatever you want. Reality is a bitch.

And the hope is that every young man understands the real life lessons here. Don't be rapey, don't instigate a gang bang on an overly drunk girl and don't hang out at frat houses.

All of that should go without saying. i don't think anyone could or would dispute that. Plus, the vast majority of young men at university probably aren't would-be rapists. As usual, we're talking about a tiny percentage.

But I'm talking about reality here. And in reality, all kinds of things, including really terrible ones, will happen given the right circumstances. And young women getting trashed at frat parties is risky behavior. My point is, have fun, but don't be stupid about it.

Seems simple enough.

Based on that video, she wasn't teasing.

So the young lady has a cock addiction. Good for her. If she consents to a gang bang that don't give these dudes a right to beat the shit out of her.

Wasn't necessarily referencing the video with the ct bit. But even when I went to college, there were girls that would ct, and then get upset when some guy would grab her ass or whatever. It's stupid behavior.

As for the last bit, well when you have a bunch of drunk people engaging in group sex, I don't doubt that the lines can get blurred. Which is also why people in general should be better at assessing risks.

Look, I'm not defending the boys' behavior at all. All I'm saying is that if you keep '****ing around,' you'll almost inevitably 'find out.'

If you don't want to be slapped around in a gangbang, the best way to avoid that is to not engage in gangbangs.

No someone will pick him up quickly.