Last month, it was revealed that star punter Matt Araiza would not face criminal charges from a rape accusation after it was determined that he was not present at the house at the time of the alleged incident. But according to the lawyer representing the alleged victim, that does not necessarily mean Araiza isn’t liable.
During an appearance on Tuesday night’s episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO, attorney Dan Gilleon made it clear that he still intends to pursue civil charges against Matt Araiza in the case.
“We are not saying that he was, and we are not saying that he wasn’t,” Gilleon said in the interview, according to Pro Football Talk. “Let’s say he was not one of the men in there. That doesn’t absolve him of liability.”
Gilleon contends that Araiza still “contributed heavily” to the harm and trauma that the alleged victim felt that night.
“Our allegation is, is he contributed heavily to the harm that she suffered that night,” Gilleon said. “He had sex with my client. Following that, she ended up having sex with multiple guys and came out of there bloodied, in shock. Ended up at the hospital, ended up with the police, and ended up traumatized. So that’s what I mean by the gang rape. Gang rapes can occur for two days. They can occur over time. They can occur multiple places. So that’s the clarification.”
“I think my client is going to get on the stand and tell a story that’s pretty ugly about Matt Araiza, and I think it’s going to be consistent with what that complaint is,” Gilleon said.
Araiza was also interviewed as part of the episode where he made it clear that he intended to sue Gilleon for defamation.
