Decide agrees to permit soccer participant Matt Araiza to ask rape accuser about her sexual historical past

SAN DIEGO — Legal professionals for former Buffalo Payments punter Matt Araiza might be allowed to ask in regards to the sexual historical past of the girl who accused him and different males of raping her at a home celebration close to San Diego State College, a decide dominated this week.

Superior Courtroom Decide Matthew Braner stated Monday he’ll permit deposition questioning within the lady’s civil go well with to deal with the 12 months earlier than the alleged assault in October 2021. He additionally ordered that a lot of the questions be phrased to elicit a “sure” or “no” response, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday.

The accuser’s credibility “might be a central difficulty on this case,” the decide wrote, and so Araiza needs to be permitted to ask the girl about her public statements relating to her age and variety of sexual companions.

The lady is suing Araiza and 4 different former Aztec gamers. The lawsuit alleges Araiza had intercourse together with her in a facet yard of the home then introduced her right into a bed room the place she stated males took turns raping her. The lady, who was 17 on the time, instructed San Diego police detectives she cooperated to keep away from being damage.

Araiza has stated he stayed within the yard and by no means entered the house throughout the celebration, and that he left almost a half-hour earlier than the alleged bed room incident occurred.

He and a lot of the different former Aztec gamers she is suing have stated their encounters with the girl have been consensual. After a months-long police investigation, the District Lawyer’s Workplace introduced in December that it could not file legal prices.

Final week, Araiza filed a defamation go well with in opposition to the girl, accusing her of knowingly making “false statements with a reckless disregard for the reality” when she spoke to police and later to media retailers.

The Payments launched Araiza in August, simply days after the girl filed her lawsuit.

Araiza was nicknamed the “Punt God” and honored as a consensus All-American for his booming kicks that helped San Diego State to a school-best 12-2 season in his senior 12 months. He was chosen by Buffalo within the sixth spherical of the 2022 NFL draft.

Araiza continues to pursue a punting job within the NFL. His attorneys have stated the girl’s ongoing civil case has led groups to shrink back.