Report: Dodgers' Trevor Bauer will not be criminally charged after sexual assault allegations
Warning: The following article contains graphic allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault.
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office will not criminally charge Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer after investigating allegations of sexual assault against him, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.
The district attorney decided there is insufficient evidence in the case to "prove beyond a reasonable doubt" that Bauer committed a crime, the Times reported. The investigation by the Pasadena police department has been open for five months.
A San Diego woman said Bauer had two sexual encounters with her that turned violent at his home in Pasadena last year. Bauer has been on paid administrative leave since the allegations in late June.
Bauer could still face MLB punishment
MLB put Bauer on paid administrative leave on July 2, and with the agreement of the MLB Players Association, the leave continued to be extended through the end of the 2021 season. The last time he pitched for the Dodgers was on June 28.
The league and commissioner Rob Manfred can still opt to suspend him, as they have for other players who have not faced criminal charges.
"MLB's investigation is ongoing, and we will comment further at the appropriate time," MLB said in a statement.
The next step is for Bauer to meet with MLB investigators, who will inform him of their findings and have him respond, per the Times.
A potential suspension falls under what's allowed by the league's domestic violence and sexual assault policy. In 2019, for instance, Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery and ultimately not criminally charged. Manfred issued a 20-game suspension.
The longest an MLB player has been suspended under the policy without being charged is a full season. Manfred issued that discipline against reliever Sam Dyson in March of 2021. MLB has suspended 14 players over the six years the policy has been active and it has ranged from 15 games to 162, per the Times.
Bauer sexual assault case
The allegations of assault came out in June by the woman in San Diego. The following day, in filing for a temporary ex parte restraining order against Bauer, she made disturbing allegations that included graphic images of her injuries after the encounters.
The two reportedly met through Instagram and agreed to meet. She said the sex was initially consensual, but turned violent. Among other allegations, she said Bauer choked her until she was unconscious and performed anal sex on her during that time. She said in filing for the restraining order that she told Bauer the next morning she didn't enjoy it, and said he seemed to understand that. They agreed to meet again a month later, and she said it was again violent. She said he punched her in the head.
Her petition for a permanent restraining order was denied after a four-day court hearing in August, with the judge citing the unlikelihood that Bauer would "cause [the accuser] any harm or even have contact" with her.
The Pasadena Police Department opened an investigation. Reports also emerged that an Ohio woman sought a protective order against Bauer when he pitched for Cleveland in 2017. Bauer's representatives have called the second allegation "categorically false," and said the meeting with the San Diego woman was consensual.
The 2022 season is the second in a three-year, $102 million deal with the Dodgers. The team has refrained from commenting about the allegations and again deferred to MLB's investigation on Tuesday.
