Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer won't be charged in sexual assault case, MLB probe continues
- Prosecutors have decided not to criminally charge Los Angeles Dodgers superstar pitcher Trevor Bauer for an alleged brutal sexual attack on a woman.
- The L.A. District Attorney's Office had been probing the woman's claims against Bauer, which were made last summer.
- Bauer, the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner, has denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that they will not criminally charge Los Angeles Dodgers superstar pitcher Trevor Bauer for an alleged brutal sexual attack on a woman last year at his home.
The L.A. District Attorney's Office had been probing the woman's claims against Bauer, which he had denied.
The D.A.'s office on Tuesday released a form explaining the decision not to charge Bauer.
"After a thorough review of all available evidence, including the civil restraining order proceedings, witness statements and the physical evidence, the People are unable to prove the relevant charges beyond a reasonable doubt," that form says.
Prosecutors informed Bauer's representatives that they will not press charges against the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner, those representatives said.
However, the 31-year-old Bauer remains the subject of an ongoing investigation by Major League Baseball, which in a statement noted that fact, and said, "We will comment further at the appropriate time."
The Dodgers said in their own statement said, "MLB is continuing their investigation. We will have no further comment until it concludes."
Bauer was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball after the allegations came to light. He never returned to play during the 2021 season as that leave was continued. He last pitched in late June.
Marc Garelick, a lawyer representing Bauer's accuser, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An emotional Bauer, in a videotaped statement lasting more than seven minutes that was posted on YouTube, said, "Both my representatives and I have expected this outcome from the beginning, and we are grateful that each of these neutral, third party arbiters have reviewed the relevant information and made clear and informed decisions on this matter."
"I have cooperated with the Pasadena Police Department's investigation and my version of events has not wavered because it's the truth. I also never 'materially misled' the court, as it was found that this woman did," he said.
"While this is not the time or the place to address every single lie or falsehood that this woman or her lawyers made to the court, I do want to be crystal clear about a few things. I never punched this woman in the face. I never punched her in the vagina. I never scratched her face. I never had anal sex with her or sodomized her in any way," Bauer said.
"I never assaulted her in any way at any time. While we did have consensual rough sex, the disturbing acts and conduct that she described simply did not occur," he added.
"You may not be my biggest fan or agree with everything I've said over the years, and that's ok – I'm not a perfect person. If you want to judge me for engaging in rough sex with a woman that I hardly knew, that's ok too," Bauer said.
"In evaluating my life over recent months, it's clear I've made some poor choices, particularly in regards to the people that I've chosen to associate with, but I am not the person that this woman, her lawyers, and certain members of the media have painted me to be."
The 27-year-old accuser had said in a request for a restraining order last summer that she consented to have sex with Bauer at his Pasadena, California, home on two different occasions earlier in 2021, but said he did things to her that she did not consent to, including sexual conduct during one of the encounters.
The woman alleged that Bauer choked her until she passed out and punched her in the face and genitals.
An attorney for Bauer later challenged the woman's claims at a court hearing when she sought to extend the restraining order against the pitcher, according to media accounts.
The lawyer, Shawn Holley, noted that the woman had got back into bed with Bauer and slept next to him after the alleged attack.
Holley also argued that the woman had indicated to Bauer that she agreed to how he treated her during their encounters.
An L.A. judge in August denied the woman's request to issue a permanent restraining order against Bauer, citing evidence that the woman sought out Bauer for their sexual encounters and the judge's belief that they would not meet again.
Bauer's agent, Jon Fetterolf, told NBC News last year Bauer "had a brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship" with the woman earlier this year that she initiated.
"Her basis for filing a protection order is nonexistent, fraudulent, and deliberately omits key facts, information, and her own relevant communications," Fetterolf said at the time.
"Any allegations that the pair's encounters were not 100 percent consensual are baseless, defamatory, and will be refuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Bauer won the Cy Young Award while playing for the Cincinnati Reds.
In February 2021, he agreed to a three-year contract with the Dodgers that could pay him a total of $102 million, which makes him one of the highest-paid baseball players.
— CNBC's Jessica Golden contributed to this story.