(KGTV) -- A transcript obtained by Yahoo Sports revealed new details in the rape investigation of former San Diego State football star Matt Araiza, including the prosecution’s explanation to the accuser as to why the ex-Buffalo Bills draft pick was not charged.
The 200-page transcript is from a 100-minute meeting that took place between San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Trisha Amador, the accuser, and her attorneys, Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports reported.
Per Wetzel’s report, in the meeting, Amador informed the accuser that DA’s Office investigators determined Araiza left the Oct. 15, 2021, house party about an hour before the alleged incident occurred.
According to Amador, timestamps from video recordings showed that interactions between the accuser and the men in a bedroom occurred at around 1:30 a.m.; Amador said investigators concluded Araiza left at 12:30 a.m.
Amador, after going over the timeline of events with the accuser, stated, “All I know is that at that point, suspect Araiza is gone from the party.”
Wetzel, citing the transcript, reported prosecutors told the accuser -- who was 17 years old at the time of the alleged incident -- that even with the existence of the video, they were unable to definitively conclude whether a gang rape took place.
Amador, in the transcript, stated, “In looking at the videos on the sex tape, I absolutely cannot prove any forceable sexual assault based upon what happened.”
Wetzel went on to report that Amador explained to the accuser and her attorneys that investigators gathered video and data evidence, as well as testimony from numerous witnesses, that offered a different account of what she had initially detailed.
Amador, per the transcript, told the accuser, “A witness who was in the house gave a statement saying that at — at least one point in the party, that you made a statement telling people at the party you were 18 … Another witness at the party, a different one, says that they specifically heard you say you were 18 …”
Araiza was taken in the 6th round by the Buffalo Bills in the April 2022 draft. On Aug. 27, the day after he and two other men were named in a civil suit filed by the accuser, the athlete known to Aztec fans as “Punt God” was released by the Bills.
In December 2022, the county district attorney’s office declined to file charges against Araiza. He has maintained his innocence, saying he only participated in consensual acts.
The accuser’s civil lawsuit against Araiza and two former SDSU football players is continuing forward, with a trial expected to begin in October.
