The scandalous news between Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer and a San Diego woman was cleared. The 31-year-old pitcher will not be charged with sexual assault over two encounters that his representatives said were “wholly consensual” and the woman said were not by Los Angeles prosecutors.
However, the situation becomes more intense as the MLB is getting closer to making a decision on whether the player should be suspended or otherwise.
Additionally, on Monday, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported that a judge refused Bauer’s request to access the accuser’s phone records. There could possibly be something hidden behind it all. While the case is being investigated, there is still no further official statement or response from Bauer.
How it happened
Bauer is a former Cincinnati Reds player back in 2020. On July 2, 2021, he was sent on administrative paid leave when the league heard about a constraining order from a woman.
Currently, the 2018 All-Star is still absent from MLB and it is said through April 16, though the dates can be extended. Days are counting by and the decision will end with the Major League Baseball to determine whether Bauer should be suspended for violating the sexual assault policy, that is if the player is proven to do so.
However, on Monday, Los Angeles Superior Court judge, Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman, apparently denied Bauer’s request to access the woman’s phone records. In theory, the cellphone recordings could have helped Bauer share his side of the story on the events with the MLB investigators. This could potentially accelerate the ending of the escalating news and allegations.
“It appears the materials being sought are not germane to the very limited issue that would come before the court on attorneys’ fees,” Gould-Saltman said.
Bauer is in the second year of a three-year, $102 million contract. He has taken 10 months of paid leave. The NL ERA leader recently filed a defamation lawsuit over his sexual assault case.
“When she left, she certainly did not look anything like the photos that were later attached to her family court declaration and circulated by her lawyers to the media,” said Bauer during the hearing.
Bauer’s encounters with the accuser
The San Diego woman met the Hollywood-born star when she tagged him in a photo on Instagram during an April 2020 game against the San Diego Padres. Until then, she didn’t expect any reply, and it turned out just the opposite. The 2020 All-MLB First Team responded to the message, and both had sexual encounters.
Reports have it that the encounters were once consensual but later turned violent. In the second incident, she claims Bauer beat her repeatedly, causing her two dark eyes, bleeding, swollen lips, severe bruising and scratches on the side of her face, which she managed to attach to show her Injured photo.
During a four-day hearing after the woman ordered a request for protection, Gould-Saltman declined to extend her request because she believed Bauer respected the woman’s boundaries. Nevertheless, Saltman thinks the baseball player may have accidentally hurt her because she didn’t write it out clearly.
The woman “was not ambiguous about wanting rough sex in the parties’ first encounter, and wanting rougher sex in the second encounter.”
“We consider in a sexual encounter that when a woman says no she should be believed,” Gould-Saltman said, “so what should we do when she says yes?”
This case will obviously impact the life of the Dodger’s pitcher. Hopefully, a solution will help resolve the problem very soon.