Editor's note: The following story contains details that might be disturbing to some readers.
Ex-San Diego State football player Matt Araiza's legal team will be allowed to delve into the sexual history of the woman accusing him of rape following a ruling issued this week by a judge.
The ruling stems from the lawsuit filed against Araiza and four other former SDSU players, which alleges the then-17-year-old plaintiff was gang-raped at an off-campus house party in October 2021.
She 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 incident occurred. He also argued in a newly filed defamation lawsuit 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.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Matthew Braner's order issued Monday will allow Araiza's lawyers to inquire about the woman's sexual encounters stretching back to just over a year before the date of the alleged rape. Monday's ruling finalizes a tentative ruling the judge issued last month.
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.
"On balance, the court concludes that good cause exists to allow some degree of discovery into plaintiff's sexual history," the ruling states.
Araiza's lawyers had sought to inquire about the woman's sexual interactions that may have occurred in the years after the October house party, but Braner denied that request.
The ruling states that the inquiries would have to be presented in the form of "yes or no style" questions. It is uncertain how much, if any, of that information would be admissible during a trial.
Braner previously approved a separate request to allow sexually graphic videos allegedly depicting the woman to be viewed by Araiza's legal team, as well as those of his co-defendants.
A status conference in the case is scheduled for Friday.
