Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Buffalo attorney Terry Connors admits it's an unusual situation regarding the allegations that surfaced against Bills punter Matt Araiza on Thursday.
"Normally, a civil suit abides with the events of a criminal case," he said.
But there are no criminal charges against Ariaza as he faces accusations of rape at an off-campus party last October in San Diego. The criminal investigation is ongoing.
Connors explained why we may be hearing about the civil case first.
"There may be a failure on the part of police to cooperate with the civil suit, so the attorney for the victim decided to go first. Or the lawyer wasn't getting the kind of response that he wanted from authorities and elevated the pressure by filing the civil litigation," he said.
The standard of proof is different in a criminal case versus a civil case.
"In a civil case, one side needs a preponderance of evidence. 51% is all you need in a civil lawsuit," added Connors.
Connors said he doesn't see anything suspicious about the timing of the civil suit, coming days after the Bills named Araiza the starting punter.
"There are a lot of things at play here," he said. "The NFL cannot impose their personal conduct policy on Araiza because the allegations are of conduct that occurred prior to the time that he was drafted. You also have the parallel investigation being conducted by San Diego State University (SDSU), which seems to me is awfully late."
SDSU waited seven months to start their investigation.
The age of the victim is central to the investigation. The plaintiff was 17 at the time of the incident in the early morning hours of Oct. 17, 2021.
"In California, the age of consent is 18, as opposed to New York which is 17. It could be a statutory rape charge in California," Connors said. "There is no defense for that. Consent is not a defense. If there is any proof that establishes that it did happen, it would constitute statutory rape in California."
Related
Now that it's public, Connors said look for authorities in California to make some decisions.
"They will evaluate the evidence, and possibly submit it to a grand jury to determine if the case moves forward from a criminal standpoint."
This also puts pressure on San Diego State University.
"Under Title IX, the statute which governs these situations, the college claimed it deferred because it didn't want to interfere with the criminal investigation. That type of excuse can only go so far," he said. "They have obligations to the students and the public."
The allegation against Araiza follows the NFL’s recent announcement that Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will serve an 11-game suspension without pay after being accused by more than two dozen women of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. Watson must also pay a $5-million fine, and undergo evaluation by behavioral experts.
WGR Bills sideline reporter Sal Capaccio was asked if the Bills are under added pressure because of the Watson saga.
"We just watched what happened in Cleveland and reaction from the public. There's no doubt that this has to be part of what's going on here," said Capaccio. "But these are two different situations. The Bills are going to do what they feel is right for the Bills and Matt Araiza. They are going to do it from their own situation, and not based on what happened with Deshaun Watson."
What did the Buffalo Bills know, and when did they know it? Reports indicate that the Bills did not know about the allegation at the time of the 2022 NFL Draft in late April. But they did know when they cut punter Matt Haack and made the decision to keep Araiza.
Connors referred to a statement from the team, indicating they conducted an independent investigation. He said it may very well be that their own investigation made them comfortable with the decision to keep Araiza on the roster.
"The Bills knew about this before releasing Matt Haack. If they felt comfortable releasing Haack and keeping Araiza, what does it mean about their investigation?" I find it interesting," Capaccio said.