SAN DIEGO – Lawyers for former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza will be allowed to ask about the sexual history of the woman who accused him and other men of raping her at a house party near San Diego State University, a judge ruled this week.
Superior Court Judge Matthew Braner said Monday he will allow deposition questioning in the woman’s civil suit to focus on the year before the alleged assault in October 2021. He also ordered that most of the questions be phrased to elicit a “yes” or “no” response, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday.
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The accuser's credibility "will be a central issue in this case,” the judge wrote, and so Araiza should be permitted to ask the woman about her public statements regarding her age and number of sexual partners.
The woman is suing Araiza and four other former Aztec football players. The lawsuit alleges Araiza had sex with her in a side yard of the house then brought her into a bedroom where she said men took turns raping her. The woman, who was 17 at the time, told San Diego police detectives she cooperated to avoid being hurt.
Araiza has said he stayed in the backyard and never entered the home during the party, and that he left nearly a half-hour before the alleged bedroom incident occurred.
He and most of the other former Aztec players she is suing have said their encounters with the woman were consensual. After a months-long police investigation, the District Attorney’s Office announced in December that it would not file criminal charges.
Last week, Araiza filed a defamation suit against the woman, accusing her of knowingly making “false statements with a reckless disregard for the truth” when she spoke to police and later to media outlets.
The Bills released Araiza in August, just days after the woman 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 year. He was selected by Buffalo in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft.
Araiza continues to pursue a punting job in the NFL. His attorneys have said the woman’s ongoing civil case has led teams to shy away.