A judge has agreed to allow attorneys for ex-San Diego State football player Matt Araiza and other former Aztecs accused in an underage girl's alleged gang rape to have a copy of sexually graphic videos allegedly depicting the then-17-year-old girl.
The ruling issued Friday by San Diego Superior Court Judge Matthew Braner stems from the lawsuit filed against Araiza and four other former SDSU players, which alleges the plaintiff was gang-raped at an off-campus house party in October 2021.
The videos, which are each less than a minute long and allegedly were shot in the bedroom where the woman says she was raped, are "relevant to Defendant Araiza and the other defendants' defense," Braner wrote.
The judge said the videos "likely" had "a central role in the decision not to proceed with a criminal prosecution of Defendant Araiza."
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After a lengthy investigation, the San Diego District Attorney's Office announced in December that it would not be filing criminal charges against anyone, stating, "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."
More on the case
The woman's attorneys have argued that the videos should not be shared because they constitute child pornography.
Braner wrote, "On balance, it would be grossly unfair to allow such highly probative evidence to be shielded from use in a judicial action by a statute intended to prevent and criminalize distribution of child pornography."
Braner's ruling allows for "a carefully restricted (and stringently enforced) production of the evidence." The videos will be produced on a single flash drive per each party with no copying or saving of the videos permitted. The flash drives will be destroyed at the conclusion of the case.
The woman alleges in her lawsuit that she had sex with Araiza outside the home where the party occurred, then was brought into a bedroom where a group of men raped her while she was heavily intoxicated.
Araiza, who was cut from the Buffalo Bills after the allegations surfaced, claims he left the party before the alleged assault occurred. He also argued in a defamation lawsuit filed last month against the woman that she had consensual sex with him and the other men, and that she also told several people at the party that she was 18 years old.
Attorneys for Matt Araiza filed a civil defamation lawsuit against his accuser, arguing the accuser's statements caused damage to Araiza's reputation and profession and caused him to suffer emotionally. It seeks unspecific general, compensatory and punitive damages.
Braner previously approved a request to allow the defendants' attorneys to question the woman about her sexual history stretching back to just over a year before the date of the alleged rape.
Araiza's attorneys have argued that the information would be used to assess the woman's credibility and her capacity to consent to sexual encounters that night, while her attorneys have argued that her sexual history is irrelevant to the case.
Braner wrote that because "it appears plaintiff's credibility will be a central issue in this case," he would grant the request.
The case is currently set to go to trial in October. The woman's attorneys have asked for a delay of the trial date, but Braner has not ruled on whether he would permit a delay.
